All's Fair in Love and War
by GengaJupite
Summary: Being the new kid is never easy, and Roxas finds that this school has way more issues than his old one did. Fights, secrets, and the shady Organization XIII keep his mind racing at all times, and the only one with answers is the one girl he can't afford to lose. But can he risk losing Naminé for the answers that could potentially save himself? RokuNami
1. Y'know, 'cause it's Terra

Hey, everybody! For those of you who don't know me (probably everyone in this section), I'm GengaJupite, and this is my first KH fic. I'm still pretty new to writing, so I won't be upset if you don't like my style or grammar mistakes or any other reasons I might rub you the wrong way. My first fic (a Golden Sun story) got pretty rave reviews, so I'm hoping that I'm good enough to make a name for myself in the Kingdom Hearts fandom as well.

Anyway, I usually do random news and review responses at the top with author notes at the bottom, but if I do start getting large numbers of reviewers (not to sound cocky, I just know that the KH fanbase has a lot of people, so it's a possibility) I'll move the RRs to the bottom so that people don't have to scroll too far to read the beginning of the chapter. Also, the chapter names are all gonna be my favourite quote or line from the chapter. I'm working on writing humour, so I apologize if our senses of humour clash.

Well, I don't really have much else to say about this other than thanks for checking it out!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the characters, names, and terms affiliated with it. All rights go to its respective owners.

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_**All's Fair in Love and War**_

_Y'know, 'cause it's Terra._

"You ready, Roxas?"

"I guess. I don't really know how to feel about all of this."

"Don't sweat it, you know Sora and Aqua and everybody, so don't worry about it! You'll be fine."

I shrugged to my twin brother, Ven, as the two of us headed out the front door of our house. Today was the first day back to school; well, I can't really say back since I'm not going back to _my _school. Let's rephrase that, it was the first day of grade eleven at a new public school that my brother had been attending while I, Roxas, was away at the fancy private school, Twilight Academy. For whatever reason, our mom decided to pull me out to attend regular old Destiny High with my brother and cousin, Sora, so here I am, the awkward new kid.

It's not that I didn't like the idea of coming to a new school with new people… okay, maybe that was exactly it, but it was also because I didn't want to leave my friends. Hayner, Pence, Olette, and I have been inseparable ever since we started school together in grade eight, so now I'm more or less on my own. Ven said he'd let me hang out with his group while I was still the new kid, but after a couple weeks of settling in I would be on my own. Gee thanks, bro. I think he was kidding, but you can never really tell with Ven.

I'm not particularly bad at making new friends, but the thought of being in a new environment with a whole bunch of strangers makes me anxious. Being the new kid, I was bound to get all the weird looks and hear all of the whispers of "who's that?" and "is that a new kid?" and my personal favourite "hey, Ven… what do you mean you aren't Ven?" You'd think that people would be able to understand when you told them that Ven is your twin brother, but the people around here seem so… simpleminded.

"Here we are!" Ven said enthusiastically as the school came into view.

The walk there was only about ten minutes, so I was already familiar with the building that was so near to my house. Honestly I've never been inside, since I only ever passed by it when I had to come home for the summer, but now this was to be my school, and I'd have to get used to it for the next two years. It was pretty much like any other normal school you see these days: white, rectangular, a sign that read _Destiny Islands Secondary School_, windows, doors, y'know, the works. A bunch of people were hanging around the courtyard, catching up with friends they hadn't seen all summer and whatnot. It was kinda sad to realize that I probably won't be seeing my own friends for quite some time.

"Hey, don't look so down, Roxas. Yeah, you're probably feeling weird, but you'll be running with the cool kids for a while," said Ven, patting me on the back.

"Really? Because I thought I was supposed to be chilling with you and your friends for the first few weeks," I quipped back at my brother, as I smiled mischievously. If there was anything I was good at, it was making quick comebacks.

"Oh hardy har har, funny guy, but you should be thanking me for not abandoning you right off the bat. I've got a rep to protect, and I don't need to be seen as a nepotist." Some brother he was. If we weren't twins, I probably wouldn't let people know we were brothers. Ven could be such a dick sometimes.

"Oh, Ventuuuuus," called a gentle voice. We both looked towards the sound to see Aqua waving over to us from a distance.

Ven was quick to ditch me for his… girlfriend? No, she was more of a girl friend, as in two separate words. But didn't they kiss and stuff? Then again, Ven was always grumbling about some guy named Terra. I thought Terra was his best friend, though I'd never actually met the guy. Huh, public school problems. We never had to deal with this kind of stuff at Twilight Academy. Everyone there was so… I don't want to say simple, so I'll say we were easy to understand. There wasn't really much drama, and that was just the way I liked things. Other than the occasional troublemaking caused by Seifer and his cronies, Twilight Academy was pretty quiet. Here… well, if my brother can't figure stuff out with his own group then things were gonna be hell.

"Hey, Roxas! How's it going?" said Aqua when I caught up to them. Aqua comes over to our house in the summer sometimes, so I knew her already.

"Fine, I guess." What was I supposed to say; I'm ecstatic to have left my old life for this brand new one that I didn't want?

"Aw, don't worry, you'll fit in great with us!" she said happily. I couldn't help but smile back to her. She just seemed so giddy for some reason.

"Where's everyone else?" asked Ven, stealing her attention. He wasn't even her boyfriend… I think, but he was already getting jealous. Honestly, dude, I've met her, I'm not gonna steal her from you. It's not like she's yours or anything anyway…

"Oh, Terra's in the foyer with Wakka. I saw Tidus and Selphie walking around looking for the Yuna and the others. I think Sora, Kairi, and Riku are meeting up with an old friend before they get here. Some guy named Mickey. Sounds familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

Ven burst out laughing at the mention of Mickey's name, causing Aqua and I to exchange odd glances before staring at my brother. What a weirdo…

"Oh man, how can you forget Mickey?! He's a freaking m-m-muh… m-muhahahaha."

Wow, great description, buddy; you should think about a career in descriptive journalism… Gah, sometimes Ven can be such a dumbass. Wait, did I say that already? Nevermind, I said dick before. Well he can kinda take on either role. I dread the thought of if our lives had been switched and _I'd _turned into the hysteric idiot standing in front of me.

"Ven, what's so funny?" Aqua asked, still just as confused as I was.

"Ehehe, nothing, nothing. You'll…. Heehee… you'll see when he gets here with them."

"Roxas!" shouted someone from behind me. Wait, someone knew it was me, not Ven; that could only be…

"Sora!" I shouted back, turning around only to get tackled to the ground by a spiky-headed blur.

"How've you been, man?!" Whoa, quell the enthusiasm, Sora. Then again, he'd always been kind of like this. I think there've only been one or two occasions where Sora _hasn't _tackled me upon arrival.

"Oof, I think I'd be feeling better if you weren't crushing me," I joked. The happy kid chuckled and apologized as he climbed off, holding out his hand to help me up. See, why couldn't Sora be my brother and not Ven? He was certainly more brotherly, even if he was supposed to be… cousinly?

"Ven, you didn't tell us Roxas was gonna be here today!" Sora laughed to my brother.

"Uh, I kinda assumed 'cause, y'know, he's transferred and it's the first day and all…" I had to agree with him on that one. Maybe we did have something more in common than our looks; I'm still the better-looking one though. Sora never really was the brightest kid growing up, but he did have a pretty vivid imagination, so he had been a better play pal than Ven.

"Oh, hehe, right…" he said, putting on his signature grin while striking his signature pose: hands behind his head as if he were leaning against something. How he always made it look like he was actually putting his weight on his hands, I would never know.

"Hey, thanks for waiting, Sora," a deeper, sarcastic voice said as a tall silver-haired boy and a scarlet-haired girl approached. I instantly recognized them as Sora's childhood friends, Riku and Kairi. "Long time no see, eh Roxas?"

I nodded back to him. I didn't really know Riku or Kairi that well, so I didn't have anything to say. It's not that we don't get along, just that I don't really know them since they're my cousin's best friends, not my brother's. I didn't notice at first, but it looked like there was some kind of midget trailing behind them as well. He looked like he had some big circles on his head or something, and, wait, was that a _tail_?! What the hell was I looking at?

"Hiya, Ven, Aqua! You guys miss me?" the thing squeaked out in a ridiculously cartoony voice. Geez, this thing even _looked_ like a cartoon! Aqua's face lit up, and Ven just started laughing again. Apparently she recognized the thing.

"Mickey! What are you doing here? Don't you have important stuff to do back home?" Wait, this thing was the Mickey they were talking about?! Ven took one look at my face and started tearing up from laughter.

"Well, not today! I thought I'd drop in for a visit before heading back! Huh, who's this?" it asked, looking at me.

Through his laughs, Ven managed to form a complete sentence, "This is my brother, Roxas. He's a transfer."

"Well, it's nice to meet ya, Roxas. The name's Mickey Mouse!" it said cheerily, holding out its oversized, gloved hand. So… it, I mean he, was a mouse? I guess that made sense now that I looked at him more carefully. I shook his hand, noting that he only seemed to have four fingers. Man, this day was just too weird already.

Suddenly, a loud bell sounded, catching everyone's attention. Mickey said a quick goodbye and everyone in the courtyard began filing into the building's large foyer. Okay, I had to admit, the school looked a lot nicer on the inside than on the outside. It also seemed bigger, which didn't really make any sense, but that's beside the point.

"Come on Roxas, we've gotta go find our names section to pick up our schedules!" said Sora, tugging me towards the left side of the foyer. Apparently everyone's schedules were in folders designated by last name.

"A to D, A to D, A to D," Sora muttered to himself. More like ADD, but I digress. Aqua and Ven weren't far behind us as we approached the table.

"Name?" said the girl behind a long desk with four folders. Whoa, how'd we get to the front of the line so quickly? More importantly, how many damn kids went to this school?

"Sora Destati!" he said overenthusiastically. The bored-looking girl sighed and ruffled through the D folder. Eventually she found his name and handed him a few pieces of paper. Sora stood off to the side and waited for us to get ours, taking on his signature pose and expression again.

"Name?"

"Roxas Destati."

"Ugh, you could've said something when I was going through it the first time," she muttered. Well, miss sourpuss, why'd you sign up for this if you were gonna be so bitter?

"Oh, uh, sorry. My brother's Ventus Destati, so you could grab that one too."

I received a death glare before she continued ruffling through the papers. Sometimes I wondered why people did things if they were just going to complain the whole time. I mean if it's voluntary, don't bother, right? She shoved Ven's and my papers into my hands, and I wasted no time in handing Ven his before quickly going over to Sora.

"Let's see what you've got this semester!" said Sora, snatching the schedule out of my hands. "Aw, man, we've only got math together. Have fun being my alarm clock."

All I could do was chuckle. Leave it to Sora to be blunt about his learning habits. Then again, math came easy to me, so I usually just slept through the lessons and taught myself the night before a test. Yeah, I'm awesome like that. It gives me as much time as I want to do fun stuff. Can't really say the same about Sora; again, he's not the brightest individual.

"Alright, Roxas, let's see what you've got!" said Ven, who waited for Aqua to get her schedule before coming over towards us. After scanning my page for a second, he smiled. "Nice, we've got PE in first period and music in third. You'll be in Aqua's history class in fourth period, and I guess we're all in PE together!"

"Don't forget about me," said a gruff voice from behind Ven and Aqua. That was when the burliest tank of a seventeen-year-old walked up and put his arms around their shoulders. Seriously, if you could see this guy, he was like a walking muscle. I'm not checking him out, but seriously what do you weigh, like three hundred pounds? If I was the gun show, then this guy was the cannon artillery.

"Terra!" Aqua cried happily. Oh, now I understand Ven's competition. Good luck pal, I'm not backing you up if you have to fight for her. He could probably pin us both with his arm hairs, and hair doesn't even have any muscle. Yeah that's how buff this guy was.

"You guys did say first period PE, right? I'm gonna squash you, little Ven," he said, ruffling my brother's hair.

Ven quickly swatted his hand away, but laughed at his best friend, "Keep dreaming, buddy. You may be a little stronger than me," …uh, a little stronger? Do you even see the Great Wall of China standing in front of you? "but I've yet to lose any running sports to you!"

"Pfft, who cares about running away when you can do this?" he said before flexing his biceps towards us. A few girls who were looking over squealed and swooned at the sight of Terra's rippling muscles.

"Uh, hey, I'm Roxas." Wow, good time to randomly interrupt your brother and his friends.

"Oh, hey there, man. Ven's told me a lot about you. Good thing you don't seem at all like this little bugger. I can barely handle one."

I laughed at the insult. Seems like I'd get along pretty well with Ven's friends if we were all in mutual agreement of his immaturity. As the crowds in the foyer started to die down, the second bell went off, indicating the start of first period.

"I'll see you later, Sora," I said, waving to my cousin as the four of us headed off towards the gym.

After quickly getting changed, I headed into the gymnasium (which was huge compared to my old one, I might add), and took a seat on the floor by Ven. The teachers had us grouped by grade, so Terra and Aqua were off with the rest of the grade twelves while we were sitting with a bunch of people I didn't know.

"Hey, Ven!" called a blond boy, who ran over and took a seat with us. "Oh, and, uh… Ven number two…" Wow, I could see why he and Ven were friends already.

"Hey, Tidus! It's cool that so many of us are in this class! Anyone else we know? By the way, my brother's name is Roxas. He wishes he could be Ven number two." Ugh, please.

"Oh, sorry about that, Roxas. Anyway, yeah, Wakka's getting changed still, and Selphie's over there with Yuna and Rikku. Pfft, grade tens, right?"

Ven shoved Tidus, laughing all the while, "Yeah, except that you've had the hots for Yuna ever since you met her!"

"Dude, shut the hell up, she'll hear you!"

Being left out of their conversation, I kind of just smiled and watched their banter. Another guy with some crazy hairdo and a foreign accent showed up and started talking to them too, so I was sort of just left out of their conversation even more than before. I didn't really mind since they were mostly just picking on each other.

"Aw shit that doesn't look good…" said Ven, looking somewhere behind me.

"Well, when there's a class with this many people we know, someone bad was bound to show up eventually," added Tidus.

"Just don' talk to them, ya?" added the guy who I think was named Wakka.

I turned around to see two grade twelves entering the gym. Other than having some rather stern and intimidating expressions, they just looked like regular guys to me. If anything the one with pink hair looked kind of like a girl… The other one, well, his hair was doing all kinds of crazy jagged motions, but his yellow eyes were certainly menacing. I watched as they passed by Terra and Aqua, the two pairs exchanging glares before the two 'bad guys' walked to the end of the line.

"Who're those guys?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"The girly one is Marluxia and the one with glowing eyes is Xemnas," Tidus muttered.

"And you guys have beef with them or something?"

"I guess you could say that," said Ven. "There's been a few… incidents that haven't ended well. I don't wanna go into details, but basically they're a bunch of dark, goth-ish douchebags who think they're better than everyone else. They have some club called Organization XIII or something. In fact, here comes another one now."

A much more emo-looking kid with greyish hair entered the gym and started walking towards where we were sitting. His right eye was covered by hair, so you could only see his left eye. He was giving us a look of disgust as he took a seat near the end of the line.

"So they aren't all in the same grade?" I asked.

"Most of them are grade twelves, but there's a few in our grade," said Tidus. "That one there is Zexion. He's kinda quiet, but everyone knows that he hates us just as much as the others. I think the other one is new from last year, but she's surprisingly not bad. I had a class with her and she talked to me and everything. Kinda reminds me of Kairi in a weird sort of way. I don't really know how she ended up in their crew, but that makes her… dangerous."

"Dangerous? Uh, okay, I won't bother asking about it. What's her name?"

Ven and Tidus both looked at each other before looking back at me and shrugging. Apparently Wakka didn't know either. Wow, guys, warn me about a potentially dangerous girl and forget her name so I don't know to stay away from her, that's cool.

"Yeah, I can't remember her name exactly," my brother continued for Tidus, "but she's kinda short and has black hair. Oh, there's also another girl, but I don't really know if she's in their group or not. She's always running around doing stuff for them, but I don't think I've ever actually seen her sitting with them at lunch or anything. Hey, Tidus, what's that blonde's name again?"

"Beats me."

Seriously? You guys are absolutely awful with names. Well, at least I know there's a short, black-haired girl, and a blonde girl that I have to look out for. That only narrows it down to about two thirds of the female population at this school with ten billion people at it. No problem, guys, thanks for the heads up.

The sound of a whistle blowing caught everyone's attention. All the heads in the gym turned towards the woman at the front of the room. Holy crap, was that the teacher?! But she's so… so… hot! Damn my teenage hormones! No, I don't mean I'm getting a boner, but why did the one teacher that I'd get to see in workout clothes have to be so attractive?

"Good morning, everybody, I'm Ms. Lockhart!" A few wolf whistles sounded, causing a few chuckles to go around. She didn't seem to mind; was she a cougar or something?

Smiling she gestured to tough-looking blond guy standing beside her. "And this here is Mr. Strife! We're going to be your PE teachers this semester!" A few female 'ow-ow's sounded after she gestured to Mr. Strife, but his face remained stern. Geez I hoped I got to work with Ms. Lockhart more… I didn't mean it like that…

"Since today's the first day, we're going to do something fun that everyone seems to enjoy: practice-weapon combat!" Wait, what?! The hell kind of a school teaches weapon combat?! Am I joining the military or something?!

Unfortunately for me, everyone else seemed to be cheering loudly, including some of the smaller girls. So much for a self-esteem booster… It's not like I'm frail or anything, but, once again, what the hell kind of school teaches weapon combat? I watched as Mr. Strife started turning a crank, lifting a little garage door at the side of the room. From what I could see, the room was filled with all kinds of different hard-rubber weapons.

"Okay, file in and get your weapons. No shoving, I wouldn't want someone to get hurt… yet." Our teacher is pretty sadistic… It's a good thing she's hot or I would be having second thoughts about this class.

When I entered the spacious storage room I got a good look at all the weapons on the wall. After scanning for a little while, I was pretty much speechless. I mean okay; nunchuks, reasonable; sword, basic; bowstaff, gives you options; most of them seemed pretty understandable, but who the hell, and I truly mean this, makes a freaking rubber scythe?! Yeah, I understand it can't actually kill someone, but still, that's a little maniacal for high school gym equipment, don't you think?

"I'll take that," said a cool voice from behind me, reaching over my head to grab the scythe that I just ranted on about. I looked behind me to see the pink-haired guy's stern expression examining the weapon before he left the area. Honestly, I was really freaked out. I had to make a mental note to never call him girly again.

"Roxas, come here!" shouted Ven from the other side of the room. I quickly made my way over to him, careful not to trip on any of the weapons people had thrown on the ground.

"Use one of these, it's called a keyblade. It's pretty easy to handle, but it packs a punch!" I guess my brother had done this before to know how to analyze the weapon so thoroughly. Reaching into a bin full of the things, I pulled one out, but it had another one stuck to its handle.

"Once you have your weapon, get back into the gym so other people have a turn," said Mr. Strife, basically shoving us out of there. Great, I accidentally grabbed two keyblades by mistake.

"Don't worry, Roxas, they know you're new. They'll probably encourage you to use two since you're gonna suck!"

I shoved my brother, despite knowing he was probably right. "Hey, shut up, I know how to hold my own!"

"Haha, we'll see."

Once everyone had a weapon, Ms. Lockhart explained the rules. It seemed pretty straightforward; beat the living hell out of your opponent until they yield. There was some more stuff that went along with it, but that's pretty much how it sounded.

"Okay, if everyone's ready, I'll get both screens going. It's going to be tournament-style and all the matches will be done within your grade! I'll be judging the grade tens and elevens while Mr. Strife judges the grade twelves."

Some giant screens by the far wall lit up. Each screen was divided into two halves to show the combatants who would face off against each other. The gym went dark before it suddenly lit up with all these neon lights that divided it with a thick line going down the middle. A large rectangle formed on the floor on each side, showing the boundaries for the fight. In all honesty, it looked like something right out of Tron: Legacy.

"_Now booting Battle Grid System. Floor One: Hand-to-Hand Combat Singles Selected_," said an automated female voice from the speakers above. Awe-freaking-some. I didn't even realize technology like this existed! From the other side, we could hear the same voice repeat what we just heard, except that they were doing doubles. Ms. Lockhart pushed a button and a list of names started flashing along both halves of the screen. Smirking deviously, she hit another button and the names on the left side started to slow down first."

"_Combatant One: Ventus Destati. Grade: Eleven. Age: Sixteen. Weapon: Keyblade._" A picture of Ven showed up on the screen, as well as his grade, age, and weapon of choice, so basically the things it just announced. Man, if my old school had technology like this, I don't think I would have ever left. I heard the click as Ms. Lockhart pushed the button again, slowing the names on the right.

"_Combatant Two: Roxas Destati._" Shit. "_Grade: Eleven. Age: Sixteen. Weapon: Dual Keyblades._" Some 'ooh's sounded as the two of us stood to take our place on the battle grid. From the other side we could hear the grade twelve matchups receive similar reactions. I guess everyone gets an 'ooh'.

"Don't worry, bro, I'll go easy on you. I'll make it look like you were doing well."

Now, I had no experience with fighting, but my competitive side must have gotten the best of me. "Hah, speak for yourself."

The speaker counted down "_3…2…1…Fight!" _and the match began. Before I could even think of what to do, Ven came flying at me. My first reaction was to block, so that's exactly what I did. His weapon struck the X-shape I'd formed in front of me, but I still stumbled back a few steps. I took a second to regain my footing, and held out both keyblades to my side. The first thing I noticed when I had the chance to look was that Ven's keyblade was considerably smaller than either of mine, and he was holding it backwards. Huh, was I holding it the wrong way? This seemed more comfortable to me… I didn't have another chance to think about it though, because Ven lunged at me again, spinning his keyblade and striking me on the side. I yelped in pain and tried to distance myself from him.

"_Point, Ventus. Two minutes remaining._"

Alright, well if it was going to announce our points, I was gonna freaking _destroy_ my brother. He was right about these weapons, they seemed to fit properly in my hands, and didn't seem tricky to use at all.

"Had enough?" he laughed.

"Just warming up," I said before quickly lunging at him. Luckily for me he wasn't expecting such a sudden move, and I easily struck him on the side.

"_Point, Roxas. One minute, forty-five seconds remaining."_

"Alright, Roxas, you wanna dance, let's dance."

The fight continued surprisingly even-matched. He would get a point, then I would get a point and that continued until the final forty-five seconds of the match. At some point I actually got a flurry of hits on him, and the machine stuttered in an attempt to catch all of them.

"_P-P-Point Ro-Point Roxas. Score: Sixteen to Twelve. Thirty seconds remaining._"

"You… you sure you don't… wanna give up?" panted Ven. Surprisingly, I wasn't feeling tired at all. Perhaps fighting was my forte. Not that I'd ever gotten in any fights; I'm a good kid…

"Get real! Look which one of us is winning!"

"Heh, you sound just like Sora. That's it wiseguy, you're going down!"

Ven did some crazy flip thing (I honestly had no idea he was so athletic) and flew down at me from above. While it was a really cool, flashy move and all, that's about all it had, because I leisurely sidestepped and mockingly tapped him on the back when he was recovering from the slight recoil of his badass-looking attack.

"_Point Roxas. Twelve seconds remaining."_

"You gonna yield, or should I embarrass you right here?" I taunted holding one keyblade over his head while I used the other to pin his down.

"I'll never surrender!"

"Your loss, then," I shrugged before placing my foot on his keyblade and battering down on his back with weak blows so not to actually hurt him. The system was going so crazy that Mr. Strife, who hadn't been paying attention to our side at all, up until that moment, thought that it was glitching out. That is, until he saw me racking up the points from a humiliated Ven.

"_P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-…-P-P-P-P-P-P-Point Roxas. Score: Sixty-Eight to Twelve. Five seconds remaining."_

Now that wouldn't do, a score like that wasn't right. There was something missing. I needed to fix it in my very limited time. It needed to be a slight bit more humiliating for Ven, but what to do. Ah, nevermind, I've got it. It'll only take one second, so, meh, why not? Poke.

"_Time! Score: Sixty-Nine to Twelve. Winner: Roxas Destati."_

A roar of laughter went around as the score was announced. Ah, it felt good to be the winner. I helped Ven to his feet, where he glanced around at the class in embarrassment. It was funny to see yourself blush, figuratively speaking that is, since it was Ven blushing, not me. Boom, baby, I'm the winner here. Suck it, Ven!

"You know I let you win, right?" he said lamely. A few boos from the crowd sounded as we took our seats. I laughed; he was usually the one getting the glory, so it felt good to change things up. Who would've thought that I might get to lay a beatdown on my brother and get _graded_ on it? Now _that_ was badass. Maybe this school wasn't gonna be so bad.

"_Ventus Destati eliminated. Roxas Destati moves to branch two."_ Why, thank you, computer, for rubbing salt in my brother's wound. Ven grumbled from beside me.

The rest of the class was spent watching and participating in intense, and not-so intense, fights. Surprisingly, I hadn't lost a match yet, and found myself in the final round. A wave of cheers went up for me as I sat back down after my semi-final match.

"_Neku Sakuraba eliminated. Roxas Destati moves to the final match."_ I had to admit, that guy was using some pretty weird attacks. He wore his headphones the whole time as if he didn't give a crap, but he was no pushover. He had some little strap things on his hands that let him make objects appear that he would telekinetically toss at me or use to defend himself. Man, if that weren't just something for the battle grid, I would totally use those in real life. You know, for doing chores… not fighting… 'cause I'm a good kid…

"_Final Round!" _announced the speakers. I could hear people chanting my name, but honestly I'd forgotten who my opponent was. If he made it to the finals, it wouldn't be an easy match. The only people who yielded early were in the first few branches of the tourney-tree. I stood as the system continued announcing.

"_Finalist One: Roxas Destati. Grade: Eleven. Age: Sixteen. Weapon: Dual Keyblades."_ A bunch of cheers went up as I made my way onto the battle grid. I looked over to the other side briefly to see Aqua waving and Terra give me a thumbs-up. Ah, it felt good to be a champion, well, almost champion. The speakers sounded and a few gasps went around the room. Apparently no one had even been paying attention to this other guy.

"_Finalist Two: Zexion Ienzo. Grade: Eleven. Age: Fifteen. Weapon: Lexicon."_

Huh, Zexion? Wasn't that the name of the emo kid who glared at us? He looked like the scrawniest guy in the class! I watched him stand and walk onto the battlefield. What was a lexicon anyway? Noting his hands, I scratched my head in confusion. A book?! The guy was gonna fight me with a freaking book?! How did he make it all the way to the finals, teach his opponents to death? Whatever, I didn't make it this far to get beat up by some guy with a book. Even Selphie's 'whip' (it was just a jump rope, but the system relayed it as a whip) was actually pretty effective.

"Roxas! Don't underestimate the lexicon! It's a deadly hell-weapon of doom!" Ven shouted to me. I almost laughed, but no one else seemed to, all with fearful looks on their faces. If it was so powerful, why didn't anyone else choose it? Whatever, it was still just a stupid book. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the book is most definitely not mightier than the key, or in this case, keys.

"_3…2…1…Fight!"_

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

"_Point, Zexion. Score: Eighteen to Zero. Twenty seconds remaining."_

So, uh, yeah, I just have one thing to say: **WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!** Seriously, I'm getting owned by a guy with a book?! Then again I wasn't expecting his book to launch freaking magical barriers and crap at me. I'm actually surprised he's only at eighteen points after this whole minute and forty seconds we've been in here. To add insult to injury, the guy hasn't even moved from the spot he started in. Geez, no wonder he's scrawny, but it hurts my pride to know that I can't even approach this guy since he's launching an endless supply of words at me. Like I said, he's basically teaching me to death… and winning.

"Roxas, you dumb piece of crap, you underestimated the lexicon! I told you that you couldn't do that!" I heard Ven shout from the sidelines. Ugh, give it a rest, I know what I'm doing… I think.

Honestly, how do you fight with a guy who launches barriers at you when you get within ten feet of him? Sure, I managed to cut through a few of them with my keyblades, but he doesn't exactly have a limit to how many he can launch. All he has to do is read a few magic words and then, poof, out comes the magic.

Ow, what the crap, did he just throw his book at me?! Oh, right, I forgot to mention, whenever this guy looks like he's feeling cocky, he closes the book and makes it fly around the room to hit me in the head. I'm gonna feel that lump tomorrow. Ow! Cut it out!

"_Point, Zexion. Score: Twenty to Zero. Ten seconds remaining."_

Okay, the gloves are coming off here. I watched as the book flew back into his hands. He didn't smile, but he almost looked smug. Oh man, he was asking for it, and I was going to wipe that look off his face in the next ten seconds. Using all my energy I lunged at him from across the room. As expected, he let out a few barriers my way, but I was gonna try something new this time.

In the split second I had, I tossed one of my keyblades straight forward, watching as it sliced through all his barriers and spun crazily towards him. With no other option, he held up the book to block the weapon from striking him. Good, a chance to finally get him off guard. Letting out a battle cry, I used all my might to smash the keyblade into the side of his legs. I literally swept him off his feet as he buckled under the hit and collapsed to the floor. Heh, this guy was good at defending himself, but he couldn't take a hit.

"_Point, Roxas. Eight seconds remaining."_

I couldn't get in enough hits to beat him in eight seconds, even if he was collapsed on the ground, I simply didn't have the energy. I quickly made my move, knowing full well that the only way to win was to get him to yield, or force him to. Good thing for me, he still hadn't recovered from his fall. Picking up his book so that it fell under my dominion (not that I had any idea how to use it) I tossed it aside so that he couldn't do anything. I picked up my other keyblade and held one over his face and the other over his crotch, you know, for good measure…

"Yield, or choose which one of these makes contact first."

Realizing the futility of his situation, Zexion sighed and let his head fall back. "You've bested me. You're the first one to do so since I've been here. I yield."

"_Match over, Zexion Ienzo surrenders. Champion: Roxas Destati."_

The lights on our side of the gym returned to normal and a huge crowd of mostly people I didn't know came running to my side to congratulate me. I don't know how he managed to do it with all the people around, but Wakka lifted me up on his shoulders so that everyone could see me. The lights on the other side returned to normal as well, indicating that the grade twelve matches were over. On the screen it showed the team that won, Aqua Brightcrest and Terra Earthshaker. Whoa, Terra, even your name makes you sound like a beast.

"Hey, Roxas, congratulations, you won!" shouted Aqua over all the cheering.

"Thanks, so did you guys, so congrats to you too!" Well, better to state the obvious than not say anything… That's not a saying…

"Ven, I'm disappointed," Terra jeered, giving my brother a light punch on the shoulder (it probably still hurt, 'cause it's Terra), "I saw that score you had in the first match. If you're gonna lose, at least make it close!"

"Hey!" Ven joked back, trying to shove the living tank a bit but to no avail because, y'know, it's Terra. "I let him win by that much! You think I would let my noob brother beat me that badly when he has no fighting experience?!"

"Heh, the more things you say, the worse you're making the situation for yourself," Terra laughed, giving him a hard pat on the back. The pat sent Ven flying forwards into the crowd, which wouldn't normally happen, but y'know, it came from Terra.

I was relishing the moment, but a strange sight caught my eye. Zexion was standing by the door, staring at me (creepy, I know), but as soon as he noticed that I saw him, he quickly turned and went into the guys' changeroom. Despite the fact that it was creepy, I wanted to know why he seemed to take such an interest in me, so I made Wakka put me down, and I briskly went off into the changeroom. Meanwhile, I could hear Ven punching Terra as hard as he could for messing with him, but the punches apparently weren't hurting 'cause, y'know, Ven has weak punches. Just kidding, don't tell him I said that, you all know the reason it didn't hurt.

As I went into the changeroom, it was oddly quiet. Usually you'd be able to hear the sounds of clothes or something shifting around, but it was literally silent. Zexion couldn't have left though, because the changerooms only had one door (can someone say fire hazard?) and I hadn't seen him leave before I got to the door.

However, the somewhat mysterious buildup of that very short paragraph was cut short by the sound of the urinal flushing. I rounded the corner to see Zexion rinsing his hands under the tap. Needless to say, he didn't seem all that dangerous like my brother and Tidus had said. Either way, it couldn't hurt to at least congratulate him on the match.

"Hey, uh, Zexion?" I said. No response, not even so much as a glance up at the mirror. Whatever, they did say he was kinda quiet. "Um, you did a good job out there. I, uh, can't say I've ever had to fight anyone like you." Or fight anyone in general, because I'm a good kid…

The silent emo kid wiped his hands on a paper towel and walked right past me without saying a word. Wow, douche. A simple 'thanks, you too' would've sufficed, but I guess walking past without acknowledging my existence is also acceptable. Whatever, that was all I really wanted to say to him. I made my way over to the locker I'd left my clothes in and quickly changed back into my regular strip, not that it was much different from my gym clothes since it was still summer weather. At least this stuff wasn't sweaty. As I turned around to leave the changeroom before the crowd of other guys filed in, I was met with a rather unsettling sight. Zexion was staring again. Seriously? (I say that too much). Not only are you a creepy guy who won't say a word when I congratulate you, but now you're watching me change when we're the only two in here?

"Uh… did you want something?" I asked with an annoyed tone.

"You're… different." Gee, that makes me much more secure… "You're nothing like your idiot brother." Got that right. "Perhaps… I'll have to talk to the Superior about this," and with that he turned and left. Uh, double-you tee eff just happened?

I didn't expect the watchful eyes of a creepy emo kid to initiate the crazy events I had in store for me that year.

* * *

Whoa, that's the longest chapter I've ever written for a story and it's only the introduction… That being said, don't expect the length of chapters to stay constant because my chapter lengths usually fluctuate pretty drastically (anywhere from 3000 words to 7000 in this case).

Anyway, what did you guys think? I can't actually start the whole RokuNami thing until Roxas meets the members of Organization XIII because he'll meet Naminé around the same time. Sorry if that's not quite what you were hoping to hear, but I assure you that I'll try to have that happen by chapter 5 _AT THE LATEST_. It's likely going to occur sooner, but I'll be sure to get it by chapter 5, so worry not, fellow hopeless romantics.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I'd someday like to be a composer for game music, so I'd be really grateful if you guys visited my soundcloud (link on my profile) and checked out some of the songs. I'll admit, none of the songs posted are great pieces, but I'm still progressing, so hopefully you'll see an improvement as time goes on.

So, yeah, please review and thanks for checking this out!

_-GengaJupite_


	2. A competition called COCK? !

Hi, guys! Anyone else pumped for the KH 1.5 ReMIX NA and EU release? I know I am! I don't even have a PS3, but I'm still gonna preorder the game when it's available. I may have to wait a bit before I can buy a PS3, but at least I won't have to worry about buying the game. I would get a PS4 when it comes out, but apparently it's not backwards compatible… like, at all… It'll be a pain in the ass when they release new games for it, because then I'll have to buy that too, especially since KHIII will probably be PS4 exclusive.

Anyway, thanks to **X-blade025 **for reviewing! I'm glad I got at least one person hooked already! To be honest, I didn't actually mean to make Ven a big jerk, but he just sort of started getting characterized that way, so I'm just gonna see where it goes from here. Tron-style PE, I wish it were real too…

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_A competition called COCK?!_

"So, one final question before I send you all off for lunch. Let's make it an easy one, shall we? Say a scout was sent into an enemy base to determine the amount of energy it takes to power the entire building. He finds the generator room, and must determine what the energy levels are based on what he can see. The main generator shows a number that reads six thousand units, and the three turbines it is connected to now multiply this amount. Supposing there is a resistor that divides the amount of power coming out of each turbine by 1.5, what number will the scout report back to his allies? MR. DESTATI!"

"Huh? Uh, it'll be…"

"Oh, my apologies, Roxas. Would you mind hitting your sleeping friend there?"

Though I had been absolutely terrified by Mr. the Wise's (I know, really weird last name) loud baritone shout, I was happy to comply with his order. Sora had fallen asleep within ten minutes of the blond teacher's lecture, and so it fell to me to wake him up. Well, he did want me to be his alarm clock. I whacked him hard on the back of the head, smirking all the while.

"Whuzza-" he said incomprehensibly, shooting up into a groggy sitting position.

"Ah, welcome back, Sora," said Mr. the Wise, crossing his arms. "Now would you be so kind as to answer the question?"

"…Uh… what was the question?"

"You should have been paying attention. Luckily I wrote it on the board for you. Now tell me, what does the scouter say about its power level?"

Almost immediately, Sora, some others, and myself all curled our lips inwards to stop ourselves from laughing. Oh, man, he had to word it that way, didn't he? I watched as Sora took a few deep breaths and pulled the sunglasses from the top of his head. Huh, I didn't even know he had those on. Holding them in an aggressive manner, he looked Mr. the Wise straight in the eye and replied…

"IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAND!" and immediately crushed the shades in his hands.

The classroom basically went into riot after that. Oh, the laughter, it hurts my abs! Make it stop, oh no, I can't stop laughing! Dammit, Sora; you and your hilarious knack for opportune jokes will be the death of me. While everyone was laughing, it occurred to me that Sora had just crushed his shades, but what I didn't know was that he had an identical pair in his pocket, which he took out and replaced on his head. I wonder how many pairs he has in there. No, no, no, I just stopped laughing, don't… ahaha… no… heehee… lolololololol.

Mr. the Wise was probably the only one in the room not smiling. It seemed as though he didn't get the joke, so he just stood there frowning because he knew he wouldn't be able to get us to settle down. Besides, even if he did, it wouldn't matter because the lunch bell went off about two minutes into our laughing fit. Everyone packed their things away and quickly headed out of the math classroom. Man, who knew math could be so funny?

"Roxas, this way," Sora motioned. I was quick to follow after him, still not knowing the layout of the school.

"Where are we headed?" I asked him. "Cafeteria?"

"Nah, we only hang out there when it's too cold or raining, and that's pretty rare on Destiny Islands. Usually we go sit on the grass out front on nice days like today."

That sounded logical enough. Sunny days, outside; rainy days, in. I followed him down a flight of stairs and through the crowded hallways. Sora seemed to have no problem shoving his way through the hoards of people, but I wasn't doing so well. Being at a private school away from home meant that there weren't too many people at the school. Even with grades eight to twelve, this school had a lot more people with only four grades. I guess that's why it's private vs. public. After what seemed like the longest few minutes of suffocating through the crowds of people, we finally managed to exit the building.

"Sora, Roxas, over here!" Kairi waved over to us.

Just as Ven had ditched me this morning for Aqua, Sora was quick to run off to his… I guess I don't know if Sora and Kairi are dating either… Man, I should really get myself updated on this stuff.

"Hey, Roxas," she said as I got closer to them, "how's your first day going?"

I shrugged, "Meh, not too bad. Math was lame, but I got to beat up Ven in PE and ended up winning the whole tournament thingy."

"Whoa, you beat Ven?" Sora asked incredulously. "But he usually makes it to the finals! What was the score?"

I grinned deviously, "Sixty-nine to twelve."

Sora and Kairi both cracked up at hearing the number. Ah, the wonders of the sexually influenced teenage mind. Always good for humour, humiliation, and some other funny word that starts with the letter 'H'. We continued chatting as we went to find a suitable spot on the grass. Kairi and Sora were kind enough to keep me involved in their conversations, making sure that they didn't dwindle on things that I didn't understand for too long. This showed yet another reason why I like Sora better as a brother. Maybe I could convince Ven to swap families…

"Hey, guys," said Riku as he, Ven, Terra, and Aqua all made their ways towards us. "So, Roxas, I heard you pummeled your brother in PE."

"Ugh, are you guys _still_ talking about that?" groaned Ven. "That was, like, a whole two hours ago! Can't we drop it?"

"You know, Ven, the more you complain about it, the more we'll bring it up," Aqua teased him. He blushed, but I don't know if it was out of embarrassment or the fact that Aqua was teasing him.

"Anyway, we've got more important matters to attend to," Terra boomed, practically causing an earthquake as he dropped down onto the grass. "It's the first day of a new school year, boys. You know what that means?"

Kairi rolled her eyes and Aqua face-palmed. Meanwhile, Ven hopped over Terra and took a seat beside him while Sora leered intensely at both of them. Riku looked almost reluctant to join them, but he did so anyway, playfully bopping Sora on the back of the head.

"Uh, what's going on?" I asked, leaning towards Kairi and Aqua.

"Ugh, it's this stupid game thing they started a couple years back," said Aqua.

"I don't know if Terra was waiting for us or what, but he seemed pretty eager to start this when we all started high school," added Kairi.

"Hey, Roxas," Terra called to me as I was about to ask them what they meant. "Come sit over here with us men. This is the best part of school!"

"Uh, should I?" I asked the girls. They just shrugged but shooed me over anyway.

"Atta boy, Roxas," Terra chuckled as I completed their circle.

"So, what exactly is this game?" I asked them.

"Game?! GAME?!" spouted my brother. Whoa, did I hit a nerve or something? I would've laughed at him, but Sora and Terra were giving me similar looks. Only Riku seemed indifferent to the whole situation.

"This is no game, Roxas!" stated Sora. "Guys, we have to do the thing for him! Y'know, the initiation!"

"Uh… initiation?" Were they making me join a cult or something?! This was weird, really weird.

"Riku, you've gotta start us off!" said Sora.

"Fine…" he sighed. Why was he part of this if he didn't even look like he wanted to do it? "This is…"

"Challenge!"

"Of!"

"CHAMPIONS!"

"…kickstarter…"

Well, if it wasn't obvious enough, Riku was the last person to chant out a word; and by chant I mean grumble/sigh/groan/deadpan. Other than him, they all took on a prideful stance as they loudly chanted out their respective word.

"Wait a second," I said, realizing something, "you guys want me to take part in an all-guys challenge that's abbreviated as COCK?!"

I could hear Kairi and Aqua burst out in laughter from behind me. Sora, Ven, and Terra all looked at each other sheepishly, apparently not realizing the stupidity of the name choice. Riku shook his head and cast his gaze downwards.

"Well, the, uh, name… nevermind, the name's not important!" said Terra in an attempt to move on. I wasn't convinced, but I let him continue.

"Basically, we have a challenge every week between us four – well, five with you – to kickstart the week. It's kinda like a morale booster, you could say."

"Okay… if it's such a morale booster, why does Riku look so apprehensive?"

"I'm apprehensive," said Riku, "because I never should've joined this thing in the first place…"

"And once you're in, you're in until we graduate!" Ven answered before I could ask.

"That still doesn't tell me why he doesn't wanna do it. Couldn't you just, I dunno, not?"

"Roxas, Roxas, Roxas," said Sora, shaking his head, "you have too many questions. I'll just explain the rules. Basically, we each take turns making up a challenge for each week. It could be as simple as a foot race or as difficult as getting the most kisses by the end of the lunch period."

"Ha, difficult? Speak for yourself, smiley," laughed Ven.

"ANYWAY, the point is to pick a challenge you think you can win at, or at least not lose at. The loser has to do something embarrassing, and the winner just adds a win to their overall score. Whoever has the most wins at the end of the year gets to make the guy with the most losses his servant for the first week of summer. Oh, and we all have to pay him one hundred munny."

"Now you see why I hate this thing…" muttered Riku.

"Oh, and one last thing, since Riku's already joined the game, he can't opt out. As much as he wants to, not participating once you've joined the competition gives you an automatic loss!"

I went over the rules in my head for a moment. It seemed like the best course of action would just be to not join the thing. I didn't need a servant, and I definitely didn't want to _be_ a servant, let alone embarrass myself if I lost. It's not like four hundred munny would be a lot to win or anything. Hell, that couldn't even buy me a pair of nice shoes!

"Kay, so what happens if I don't join this thing?" I asked them, though I was leaning pretty heavily towards that option.

"Uh," answered Sora, looking to Terra. I guess since they'd all joined it, it didn't occur to them what would happen if someone didn't.

"You, um," started Terra, "you…"

"You'll either have to do the embarrassing thing with the loser, or we'll get you if you don't!" Ven answered quickly.

"Yeah, what he said!" Sora and Terra shouted enthusiastically.

"Oy vey," Riku muttered.

Damn, they pretty much had me cornered here. It was either risk doing an embarrassing act on some weeks, or get embarrassed every week regardless. I probably shouldn't have asked what would happen if I didn't join, I should've just opted out before they thought of something. Well, might as well suck it up now.

"Fine, I'll join your stupid COCK…"

"That's the spirit, Roxas!" shouted Terra. "Okay, well since it's the first week, I picked the challenge for today. Don't worry it's an easy one: eating contest!"

As he said that, a huge feast of food was pulled out from his bag. Holy crap, is that what he'd been carrying around all day?! I mean, okay, a few sub sandwiches, the bugers and pizza, and the big bottles of water seemed normal, but why would he even think to carry around a blueberry pie, pineapple upside down cake, and a full round of cheese?! How did he even fit all that in his bag without it getting crushed?! Who eats a full round of cheese?! Even for a tank like Terra, that seems absolutely disgusting.

"Ah, don't worry Roxas," said Ven, noting my stupefied expression, "Riku almost always loses eating contests. You won't beat Terra or Sora, so it's pretty much just us three fighting not to lose."

"Gee, that's reassuring…" I said sarcastically.

"At least you can keep your appetite around these oafs," groaned Riku, though he seemed amused by Terra and Sora's glaring match.

"You're going down this time, Terra!" Sora announced.

"Ha! Keep dreaming, squirt!" boasted Terra. Geez these guys got really serious with their stupid competitions. "Someone count us down!"

"321GO!" Sora spluttered before shoving an entire burger into his mouth. Ew, I didn't even know people could do that.

"Cheater!" shouted Terra, before copying Sora's strategy.

I realized that I was supposed to be battling it out, but Terra and Sora had already made a mess of the food. I could see people staring at us with odd looks on their faces. Great, I'd never make new friends at this rate… And there was supposed to be something _more_ embarrassing after this?

"Rokphaph," I heard Ven say through a full mouth of pizza, "you haffa ee' f'you doe wa'a ooze!"

…English, please? Whatever, I got the gist of what he was saying. Taking a look at the mess of food, I reached my hand in to grab something. Beside me, Riku didn't even look like he was trying as he casually chewed on a pizza crust. Apparently he figured he was gonna lose, but at the moment he was beating me. I felt my hand squish into something slimy, and pulled it out to reveal a large purple stain.

"Ah, gross!"

"Gross is right!" added Sora between bites. "I don't know where your hands have been, now you have to eat that whole pie yourself!"

"Say what?!" I shouted. Not only did I not want to be in this stupid competition, but now I had to eat an entire pie to myself?!

"Better dig in or Riku might actually beat you!" said Terra, reaching for the cheese round. To restate what I said earlier, ew.

But he was right; I hadn't eaten anything, where Riku had now eaten a whole two and a half pizza slices. I wasn't paying attention to Ven, and it was impossible to count how much Terra and Sora had gone through with the naked eye. I already had a blue hand, so it couldn't really get any more embarrassing than this, right?

Wrong. By the time all the food was gone, my entire mouth, nose, cheeks, neck, and bits of my chest were blue from the pie. I don't know if I was more disgusted with my own eating habits, or the knowledge that Sora had consumed the entire cake and countless burgers. Actually, scratch that, the fact that Terra had eaten thirteen slices of pizza, six burgers, and the entire round of cheese was definitely more disgusting. Boy, he was gonna have a nice after-school number two…

Despite the fact that he's a known pig, Ven was completely clean save for a few sub sandwich crumbs on his shirt. Riku, understandably, had no mess anywhere near him, having only eaten three pieces of pizza. Actually, now that I looked at them all, I was probably the messiest one out of all of us. I could feel my face turning red as a few girls walked by and laughed. Great, I was covered in blue and my face was turning red…

"Hehe, hey, that's a good look for you, Roxas," came a voice from behind me. I guess they saw me spilling pie all over myself…

"Tidus! When did you guys get here?" Sora said as he rubbed his belly.

"Just a few minutes ago. We didn't want to interrupt your game thing since we're not part of it."

"THEY WHAT?!" I screamed at my food-pregnant companions. "YOU SAID YOU'D DO HORRIBLE, EMBARRASSING THINGS TO ME IF I DIDN'T JOIN!"

"Ehehe, right," Sora laughed sheepishly, "I guess you could've opted out, but now that you're in, we actually _will_ do horrible, embarrassing things to you if you don't participate."

I would've buried my face in my hands if they weren't completely stained blue. Figuring that this shirt was useless for the time being, I stripped it off and began wiping down my face.

"Ooh, stud alert!" giggled a girl.

Oh, right, there are girls behind me. I could feel my face starting to burn scarlet again, and the wolf whistles weren't helping. I guess they all decided that teaming up on me was the best course of action.

"I call dibs!" said a different girl.

"No way, Rikku, I saw him first!"

"Selphie, please, he wouldn't go for someone like you!"

"You bitch!"

"Come on, you guys, don't fight about this! After all, I seem the most like his type."

"Yuna!"

"Yes, Tidus?"

"…Ehehe… nevermind…"

I don't know how I wasn't passing out from all the blood rushing to my head, but rest assured, I was incredibly embarrassed; so much to the point where I was rooted to the spot. As much as I wanted to go get my PE shirt from my locker, that would mean either being the topless lost boy walking around the crowded halls or the lost blueberry-stained shirt boy walking around the crowded halls. No matter what I chose, the result would be getting lost.

"Psh, don't look so embarrassed, bro, they're joking!" laughed Ven. "They've never made a fuss like that when I go without a shirt!"

"Yeah, because you're fat, Ven!" shouted the girl I think was Selphie.

"Ouch, rude much?" he feigned offense.

"Uh, Sora," I said while the others bickered about me, "mind helping me find my locker again?"

"Oooh, I'll help!" said a more upbeat girl, who I think was Rikku.

"Th-that's okay, really!" I stuttered, covering my exposed front with the shirt. "Sora knows where it is anyway."

Before I even knew what was happening, someone grabbed me by the wrist and hurried me away from them. I could see them still arguing, but now Ven and Sora were both staring after me with mixed expressions of disbelief and jealousy. I looked to my wrist and followed the arm up to see Aqua dragging me away while Kairi led the way.

"W-what are you guys doing?"

"Ugh, it's our fault for letting you get involved in that stupid game in the first place," Aqua said apologetically.

"Yeah, the least we can do is help you find your locker before Selphie, Rikku, and Yuna start giving you a hard time," said Kairi. "Good thing Paine's not here. She wouldn't compliment you; rather, she'd probably tear your self-esteem apart."

Yeesh, they certainly had a diverse group from the sounds of it. I didn't realize how air-conditioned the school was, but, man, it was freezing without a shirt on. I was getting pretty embarrassed that my muscles were tensing up from the cold, and the fact that my skin was turning a bit pink while I was being shirtlessly led away by two, admittedly, attractive girls was not a good way to keep a low profile on the first day as the new kid.

"Damn, Ven, looking good!" shouted a random girl in the hallway.

"That's not Ven, that's his brother, Roxas!" said another girl who was in my PE class.

"Yeah, Ven's too fat to look that hot!" giggled another in their little group.

I couldn't help but snicker at the fact that everyone thought Ven was fat. At least they could tell me apart in some way. However, the comments didn't make me feel any less embarrassed and I heard them giggle even more as my face turned red.

"Here we are, Roxas," said Kairi when we got to my locker. Sora must've told them where it was at some point because I certainly hadn't told them.

"Thanks, I, uh, appreciate you guys doing this for me."

"Oh, it's no trouble," Aqua said sweetly, "and you don't have to worry about continuing their dumb game, we'll keep you safe now."

I know she meant well, but that hurt my pride. I mean, it was a stupid competition and everything, but it was almost as if she was trying to get me to stay in it by saying that. It all came down to what was the least humiliating choice, doing stupid competitions or being 'kept safe' from a couple of girls. Ugh, sometimes life puts you in tough positions.

"Whew, looking good, Roxas," called a girl passing by; I think she was in my PE class, Shiki or something. The Neku guy she was with didn't look too pleased, but that didn't really bother me, Shiki's pretty cute.

Alright, well if this stupid competition was going to end with cute girls telling me how hot I was while also laughing about my brother's weight, then I suppose I could stay in it a little longer.

"Thanks, guys, but I think I can handle it for a little while. Maybe I'll opt out of the ones I don't wanna do."

"Suit yourself," they said and shrugged while I quickly pulled on my PE shirt. The sweat from earlier had dried, and luckily it didn't smell like BO, so I was in the clear.

By the time we got back outside, a bunch of people were staring in the area where our group had been. I could hear laughter every once in a while, but wasn't able to see. Lightly pushing my way through the crowd, I had to hold in my own laughter at the sight that I was met with.

"Do I even need to ask?" I said as Riku shuffled up to me with his pants around his ankles.

"They're making me walk around like this until the end of lunch period…" he sighed, turning away from me. "At least boxers are like shorts, but I'm also supposed to go talk to random people…"

"H-have fun with that," I stuttered in an attempt to contain my chuckles. He grit his teeth, but didn't say anything more to me.

Aqua, Kairi, and I laughed as we walked back towards our recently sighted group. Ven and Sora seemed to be in better spirits now that their kind-of-girlfriends had returned. I couldn't deny that seeing such a serious, mature guy like Riku awkwardly walking up to strangers with his pants around his ankles was pretty funny sight.

"Guys, watch this," said Sora as he snuck around by Riku.

He walked around with his finger at his lips to make sure everyone was silent. Man, this was just like a comedy show. The crowd did their best to suppress their giggles as Sora went behind Riku and motioned his hands in a downward pulling motion. A bunch of people nodded, and Riku didn't suspect a thing since he was currently trying to make conversation with a stranger. In one quick motion, Sora exposed Riku's bare buttocks to the crowd, with his man parts facing the stranger in front of him.

"What the- **SORA, YOU LITTLE SHIT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" **cried the red-faced, silver-haired teen as he pulled up his boxers and pants in a flash. A few whistles and a whole lot of laughs went around the crowd as Riku gained on the hysterical spike-head.

"Well, Roxas," Ven said as he wiped away mirthful tears from laughing, "not so bad for a first day at school, huh?"

I was laughing pretty hard myself, "I c-can't say I was expecting to see someone lose their pants on the first day, but yeah, it's been pretty good!"

Other than Sora getting nearly strangled to death by Riku, the rest of lunch went on without much drama. Well, okay, I suppose after the whole shirtless thing I had to deal with Selphie, Rikku, and Yuna hitting on me for the rest of it, but I wasn't complaining. Tidus certainly seemed upset by Yuna's antics, though.

After lunch Ven and I headed off to music. Our schedules said 'von Muir, Edward' as the teacher. Ven told me that this guy was a retired accomplished harp player for some philharmonic orchestra. Sounded a little intimidating, but the two of us were pretty good singers, and we were prepared to prove it.

Music went by pretty quickly. Turns out that Mr. von Muir is actually really nice, and he got us all to do some singing games to help everyone feel more comfortable singing around each other.

"Oh my god, you guys sound just like Jesse McCartney!" a few girls squealed as we headed out of the room. Oddly enough, that isn't the first time we'd been told that…

Man, to think I didn't like the idea of public school this morning, and now I already had fangirls flocking around me over my body and voice. Honestly, the longer I stay here, the less I miss Twilight Academy. Of course, I wish that I could still hang out with my old friends, but everyone here seemed nice enough. I'm almost certain that Ven was kidding about the whole on my own thing after a few weeks; at least, I hope he's kidding…

"See ya, Roxas!" Ven said as he headed off towards his last class of the day.

I waved and set out in the direction he told me to go in. Huh, maybe it was just in the early morning that Ven acted like an asshole, because he certainly seemed more brotherly now. Either that or he realized that he would have to put up with me for the next two years, so he may as well make the most of it. Regardless, I was just glad he wasn't acting like a total douche nozzle.

"Roxas, over here!" Aqua waved to me when I got into the classroom.

"Hey, Aqua," I said, taking the seat beside her. It took me a moment to realize something odd about her presence. "Say, isn't this a grade eleven history course? You're in grade twelve, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I'm actually not a student for this class," she said flatly. "I'm a peer tutor. I don't know if you noticed, but every class has at least one of us. Peer tutoring's a grade twelve class, so there's only so many places we can be."

"Ah, that makes more sense. Now that you mention it, there was some guy named Demyx helping out in our music class. He's kind of awkward, but he seemed to know his way around a sitar."

Aqua gave me a weird look at the mention of Demyx's name, but was otherwise unfazed. When the teacher walked in the room, she quickly got up to help him sort through a bunch of papers and stuff that he was going to hand out.

"Um, excuse me," said a soft voice from beside me, "is anyone sitting here?"

I turned to see a sweet-looking girl with short black hair and sparkling blue eyes. Geez, this school has no shortage of attractive girls, that's for sure. Her lips were curled up in a small smile, and she kind of reminded me of Kairi if said girl had short black hair. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a weird sense of déjà vu was going off as if I'd heard that before, but nothing came to mind. Either way, the seat on my left was free since Aqua was sitting on my right.

"N-no, go ahead," I said so that she could put her things down.

"Thanks," she replied as she set her bag on the floor and took a seat.

"I'm Roxas by the way. Roxas Destati."

"Ah, yes, my friend told me about you. He said that you were the champion in his PE class this morning! Apparently you pummeled your brother," she giggled. Damn, she was cute. "Oh, where are my manners, I'm Xion. Xion Oni."

"Nice to meet you, Xion," I said, shaking her hand. Wow, that seems really formal for a teen to do, but she didn't seem to mind.

"So, Roxas, where'd you used to go to school before this?"

"Oh, I used to go to Twilight Academy. I'm not sure why, but my mom decided to pull me out and transfer here. Moms can be weird sometimes."

"I wish I knew…" she said before fading out a bit.

Oh crap, did I hit a nerve there? Dammit, I didn't think I could ruin a potentially new friendship so quickly! Fffffuuuuuuuu-

"Sorry, I zoned out there for a second," she said just as sweetly as before. Huh? "Yeah, sometimes I get need a second when people talk about their parents. I never knew mine, but I'm okay now. Anyway, Twilight Town, huh? That's pretty neat, my friend and I used to live there before we both ended up moving here. Funny how that works out, hey?"

Whoa, whoa, whoa, this girl just had a minor depression setback over the loss of her parents, but she can jump back into it just like that? I don't know whether I should be impressed or pity the poor thing. Well, it doesn't really sound like she wants to dwell on the subject too long.

"Yeah, what a coincidence. Does your other friend go here?"

"The one from Twilight Town? Yeah, she's a real art nut though, so she spends a lot of her time in the art room. I'll introduce her to you sometime. Friends help friends make more friends, right?"

Aside from the overuse of the word 'friends' I could completely agree with what she just said. Wait, she already considered me a friend? I'm not complaining since she seems like a sweetheart, but usually people aren't so open-minded. Well, if she wanted to consider me a friend, then I would definitely accept this new friendship. Her offer seemed genuine, and I could feel warm fuzzies in my stomach.

My friend, Xion. Has a nice ring to it.

* * *

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially the competition section and all the girls calling out how hot Roxas is. Initially I was going to make a guy say it too, but then I scrapped the idea when I realized it would just look like I was copying **Redeeming Endeavor**'s work. The last thing I want to be seen as is a plagiarist or someone who can't make up their own ideas, no matter how small they are.

I made Xion's last name Oni because Noi doesn't really sound like a name, even though it does follow the Nobodies' other name thing that I'm doing for all the Organization XIII members. And on the topic of last names, Mr. the Wise (Ansem, if for some odd reason you didn't figure it out) was originally just Mr. Wise, but I didn't want people to be confused as to who he was supposed to be. True, it makes his last name seem weird, but that's what the little note beside it was for :P

And I suppose since Edward Chris von Muir isn't in KH, but he is a FFIV character, I should add to the disclaimer. I do not own Final Fantasy or the names, characters, and terms affiliated with it. All rights go to its respective owners, Square Enix/Soft, and any other aliases they may have gone by.

So, let me know what you guys thought in your reviews, and don't forget to check out my soundcloud (link on profile)!

_-GengaJupite_


	3. I might need some new pants

Woo, preordered KH 1.5 ReMIX on Wednesday so now I'm playing the waiting game… until next year because apparently that's when it gets shipped… I also need to buy a PS3 and a new TV… Heh, I guess I have a bunch of things to do this year, but such is life.

Anyway, it's great to see that I've already got a few favourites just from the first two chapters! Thanks to **X-blade025** for reviewing! To be honest, I just made up some numbers for that math question, but I suppose if I plug it into my calculator… it comes out as 12000. I was only going for the over 9000 joke, but I suppose that technically it _was_ over 9000 lol.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one.

* * *

_I might need some new pants, but other than a heart attack I'm fine_

"So, Roxas," Xion said as we packed up our bags at the end of class, "got any plans today?"

"Uh, I don't think so. I'm probably just gonna go home."

"Oh, that's no fun! You should go out and meet some new people! In fact, my friends and I are all getting together later. You can come along if you want. I know what it's like to be the new kid since I was in your shoes last year. Making friends isn't always easy."

Gosh, she's got to be one of the nicest people I've ever met! I'm not saying that Ven's friends aren't nice, but Xion is something else. We basically spent the whole class chatting, and I learned a lot about her. I'm surprised that she's such a happy person after having to move around from foster home to foster home. Seems like a rough life, but she's making the most of it. If her friends are anything like her, I'd be glad to meet them!

"Yeah! I mean, uh, thanks, Xion."

She giggled in response to my enthusiasm. "Okay, meet me by the benches out front!" she said before making her way out of the room.

Then it dawned on me. Crap, I still don't know my way around this school! How am I supposed to find the front if I can't even find a bathroom in this place?! Shoot, even worse, I still don't even know where my locker is… This day was going so well until now…

"Roxas, you okay?" Oh, thank god, Aqua's still here. She'll be able to help me out.

"Hehe, I, uh, don't remember where my locker is."

"Oh, that's no problem, I'll help you find it," she said, leading me down the hall. "So, I saw you hitting it off with that girl. She's a real cutie."

"Yeah, we just kind of click, you know? She actually invited me to chill with her and some friends."

"Ooh, Roxas's got game!" she laughed, causing me to as well. "What's her name?"

"Xion Oni. You know her?"

"Hmm," she paused, tapping her finger on her chin in thought, "nope, can't say I do, though her name does sound familiar. I guess when you've been at a school for a while the names all start sounding familiar."

"I suppose. Hey, just making conversation, but that Mickey guy… How do you guys know him? I mean he's a mouse and he definitely doesn't seem like your everyday character…"

She chuckled a bit. "Heh, I guess I'd be weirded out to see a giant cartoony-looking mouse on the first day of school too. Let's see, we all took a school trip to Disney Town back in middle school and while we were there we got to meet Mickey for one of our class lessons. He's head of a huge media business there, and he actually said that he was going to make a video game with all of us as characters! I think he was gonna call it Kingdom Hearts or something. Neat, huh?"

"Whoa, that's badass! I wish I'd been there. I guess seeing Ven in a game would kind of be like seeing myself…"

"Oh, I think Ven might've actually signed your name on the waiver too. That blockhead, he was supposed to tell you!"

We both laughed and continued talking until we reached my locker. Aqua gave me some clear directions on how to get to the front of the school, and I thanked her when she headed off to her locker. When I was done getting all my stuff, I promptly made my way to the front courtyard where I could see Xion and some tall, skinny guy with crazy red hair sitting with her.

"Hey, Roxas, over here!" she called and waved from her spot. I made my way over and the other guy was quick to introduce himself.

"So, you're the guy Xion couldn't stop talking about!" he said, earning a playful punch from a blushing Xion. "Well, well, I'd say you're about as attractive as she told me." Uh… I think he was joking, but I don't really know him so it was kind of just awkward… "Heh, no sense of humour I see. I'll grow on you; trust me. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

…Well, considering you just said your name less than a second ago I'd have to be a goldfish _not_ to have it memorized…

"Ugh, you and your stupid catchphrases, Axel!" Xion laughed and groaned at the same time.

"Heh, uh, I'm Roxas."

"Roxas, huh? Cool name. Well, Roxas, we're heading over to my place. It's probably the coolest pad around this nick of the woods, so just relax and enjoy yourself."

With that, he and Xion stood up, and the three of us started heading down the path towards his place. I texted Ven to let him know that I wouldn't be home until later. He probably couldn't care less, but I had to make sure he told our mom; otherwise there'd be search parties all over the neighbourhood for me. Search parties aren't so effective when you have a twin brother though.

We got to Axel's house after about twenty minutes. From the look of it, it was just an ordinary house; actually, it could probably use a new paint job. I suppose you can't judge a book by its cover, but you can usually judge a house by its exterior. Well, that's what I thought until we got inside.

Much like the school, Axel's house seemed almost bigger on the inside than it was outside. Everything looked super clean, from the shiny hardwood floors to the spotless mantelpiece in the other room. A large portrait of Axel and three other people I assumed to be his parents and brother hung just above it, and overall his house looked fancy and pristine.

"My parents are pretty anal when it comes to cleaning," he said, throwing his bag by the stairs and kicking off his shoes. "You probably won't see them since they work late hours. We're not gonna hang around up here anyway. The crib is downstairs."

He led us down into his basement, and the insane furnishings amazed me. A soft, navy carpet lined the floor, and the walls were painted a cool, dark red. A giant flatscreen was built into the wall across from a setup of squishy couches and recliners. On either side of said TV were some giant speakers that could also hook up to a music player. A big case of countless games, movies, and all sorts of gaming consoles sat just beneath the screen. Off to the other side of the room were a pool table and a dartboard with a bar counter off to the side. The whole room itself actually had a relaxed-looking bar theme, but I could see it completely transforming for parties and such. A door leading outside revealed a rectangular pool and a hot tub beside it. Seriously, what do his parents do for a living?!

"Heehee, I had the same reaction my first time here," giggled Xion, shutting my jaw. How long had that been hanging open?

"Heh, you think this place is cool, you should see my brother Reno's place! This is just the basement, but his whole house is tricked out like this." Axel must have a lot of pressure to become successful if his brother has an awesome pad like this. "Pull up some couch, Roxas. I'm gonna go get us some snacks. The others will probably be here in a while."

"Who else is coming?" I asked Xion as Axel ran off upstairs.

"There should be eleven other people coming. We usually have some kind of get-together meeting type thing every month, so the first day of school is the best way for all of us to meet!"

"Oh, am I intruding?"

"Not at all; no! Axel brought me to one of their meetings last year, and they just kind of took me in as one of them. It's kind of funny, I wouldn't have thought that Axel'd be friends with most of them, but they all get along pretty well."

Before I could ask any more about them, the sound of someone falling down the stair caught our attention. Xion just started laughing, but I was a bit worried.

"Oh, ow, shit, crap, dammit, piece of, ouch, geez, yow…" and on came the sounds from every step the guy hit. I thought it might have been Axel, but the voice sounded a lot more nasally.

Eventually, some guy with a blond mullet rolled into the room with a bag of chips. He looked familiar; wasn't he the guy from my music class?

"Yo, Demyx, you okay?!" Axel shouted from the top of the stairs. "Heh, who am I kidding, you always fall down those stairs."

Demyx sighed, "I knew he sent the wrong guy for this."

"Oh, shut it, you," Xion continued laughing. "All he did was send you down here with a bag of chips. Now gimme!" She quickly snatched them away from him while he picked himself up off the ground.

"Hey, what's _this_ kid doing here?!" Demyx snarled, pointing at me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there, Demyx, this is Roxas," assured Xion. Almost instantly he eased up and flopped down on the couch beside me.

"Oh, hehe, sorry about that, bro. You and that other guy look exactly the same. You're in my music class, right?"

"Y-yeah," I responded, still kind of stunned from everything that just happened.

"Ha, relax, buddy, I'm not gonna hurt you. We're all cool here!"

The tension eased up, and I was already liking Xion's friends. Axel and Demyx seemed pretty cool, if not a bit dorky, and I could see myself getting along with them already.

"I'm Roxas," I said, grinning to him, "Roxas Destati."

"Call me Demyx Myde; er, maybe just Demyx, since, y'know, Myde's my last name…"

I guess my first impression of him from music was right. He's just kind of an awkward guy with a cheerful, albeit cowardly, personality. I guess I can't actually say if he's cowardly, but he gives off that sort of aura, if you get what I mean. Whatever, as long as he's a cool guy, I don't mind being his friend. I wonder why he got all angry when he thought I was Ven…

"Oh, I love me some good ole 'za," Axel sang as he came down the stairs with a whole bunch of pizza boxes. Holy, did he just order that now?! Were they having a party or something? A knock at the door distracted me from the pizza for a second.

"You guys know there's a front door, right?" Axel said as he answered it for the two burly teens. Man, I bet these guys could outmuscle Terra!

"Well, if we're going to be down here, what's the point in coming through the front?" said the less-burly one with long black… braids?

"Ah, true that, well come on in! We're still waiting for everyone."

Then I thought I saw my life flash before my eyes in the next moment. As soon as the burlier guy with short red hair saw me, he almost glided over to where I was and pinned me to the wall. My feet were off the ground and I'm pretty sure my heart was going 1000 bpm.

"Why are you here?" he growled, but I was too busy shitting my pants to respond.

"Whoa, Lexaeus, cool it, this guy isn't who you think he is!" Axel shouted, running over towards us. The big guy didn't seem convinced though, so I still remained suspended in the air.

"I asked you a question," he growled again.

"M-m-muh… m-my name's Roxas Destati. Xion invited me," I managed to stutter out in squeaks.

The big guy grunted and dropped me, where I promptly crumpled onto the ground and didn't move. I waited for him to turn around and head back to the other side of the room before standing back up with Axel's help.

"You good, Roxas?" asked Axel.

"…I might need some new pants, but other than a heart attack I'm fine…"

The redhead chuckled and turned back towards the newcomers. "Guys, this is Roxas Destati. Yeah, he's Ven's twin brother, but I can assure you that Roxas is cool. When the others arrive, do you maybe want to help me hold them off so poor Roxas here doesn't have to go through that ordeal over and over again?"

The two burly guys looked at each other plainly before turning back to look at me. "Your name is Roxas, yes?" asked the one with braids. I nodded in response. "Then I suppose we'll have to wait to hear what Superior has to say. My name is Xaldin and your interrogator is Lexaeus."

I was getting a weird feeling about being here. It wasn't so much to do with the fact that I nearly got killed, but more of the why I kept getting these angry looks. First Demyx with the angry accusation, then Lexaeus with the near-death experience. They both thought that I was Ven, but what difference would that make? Was this the group of people Ven said he had beef with? I could certainly understand what he and Tidus meant when they said dangerous. Well, that's assuming this really is the group they were talking about.

After another fifteen minutes and four more near-death experiences later, I had the 'pleasure' of meeting Vexen, Luxord, Xigbar, and Saïx. Of the four of them, Vexen was probably the least intimidating. He had long blond hair and came off as science geek, well, if a science geek could pin me to the floor and threaten me with a vial of chemicals. Then came Luxord, who nearly blinded me with the cards he flung at my face. Once he calmed down, however, he seemed to be friendlier than Vexen had been. Had Luxord succeeded in taking out one of my eyes, I could be eyepatch buddies with Xigbar. 'Eye' certainly don't know what happened to him, but Xigbar has these huge scars on his face and an eyepatch over his right eye. I'm glad he only managed to throttle me on the floor because I heard him mutter something about bringing his parents' gun after he let go of my neck.

And then that left me with the most frightening of the four of them, Axel's best friend, Saïx. They're honestly nothing alike, so I'm not sure how Axel and Saïx came to be the best of friends. Either way, I certainly never wanted to get on Saïx's bad side, because that crazed look in his eye was enough to kill me. I actually thought he might bite my head off when he leaped from the door to where I was sitting. I don't know how he cleared the pool table, but that isn't exactly the most pressing question when a blue-haired maniac with an X on his face is about to rip off your head.

"Heh, sorry… again, Roxas," Axel said sheepishly after he'd pulled off Saïx. "I think we should probably go about this a different way, because apparently I'm no good at protecting you."

"Y-yeah, uh, how many more people are we expecting?" I asked. I'm surprised that I hadn't literally shat my pants or pissed myself from everything that had just happened.

"Hehe, only four…"

Greeeeaaat, four more chances to escape death; I love it. Living life on the edge. Goodbye, cruel world. Know that this is my mother's fault for taking me away from my safe life at Twilight Academy. My heart stopped when the door opened again.

However, I was met with a familiar pair of eyes, well, I really should say eye. My suspicions about this group were pretty much confirmed as soon as I saw Zexion enter the room. He gave me a blank look and thankfully realized that it was me, as he turned away and began speaking with Lexaeus.

"Hey, whaddya know, Roxas, looks like Zexion's taken a liking to you!" said Axel, patting my back.

"I guess it's because I met him earlier. I beat him up in PE…"

"Haha, that's m'man, Roxie!" …Pretty sure that's a girl nickname…

"Oh, I probably should've told you that it was Zexion who told me about you!" said Xion, slapping herself on the forehead. Well, that would've been a nice heads up, Xion. Maybe then I could've avoided all of these freaking psychopathic killers!

The door opened again to reveal two more familiar faces. Axel wasted no time in dragging me quickly from the couch to greet the two newcomers.

"Xemnas, Marluxia, so great of you to show up! Have you met Roxas? This is Roxas! Roxas Destati is his name! Roxas like R-O-X-A-S Roxas! Y'know, not like Ventus, but Roxas! Similar-sounding names, completely different people! Roxas! Looks like Ven, acts like Roxas because he's Roxas, not Ven!" Well, hopefully he got the message across.

The two of them did look tense for a moment, but after hearing Axel's ridiculously Roxas-specific onslaught of words, it seemed as though the message got across to them. I sighed in relief when they both nodded to me and continued inside the house. Man, that was good thinking on Axel's part. The looks on their faces definitely indicated that they also would've jumped me if Axel didn't take initiative.

"Are we all here?" Xemnas asked in a deep voice. I couldn't really pinpoint if his voice was unnerving or soothing, because it had a sort of sinister feel to it despite being just a regular-sounding voice.

"Uh, we're just waiting on Larxene, but I think we can probably start without her," Axel shrugged.

I went back to the couch and took the seat between Xion and Demyx where I had been before Axel dragged me to the door.

"So, what is this meeting for, anyway?" I mumbled to Xion.

"Oh, we're a school club called Organization XIII," she replied. "We basically plan out events and stuff. I didn't know there was so much friction between our group and your brother's. Their club, the Wayfinders, and ours are rivals, but that wouldn't explain what all the animosity is about."

"Oh, Ven did say that there's been a few incidents between you guys. I assume it isn't necessarily to do with the club though."

She shrugged and everyone quieted down so that Xemnas could begin the weird meeting that I somehow found myself a part of.

"Before we begin, I must address the newcomer in the room," he said slowly. Everyone turned to look at me, and I could almost feel the daggers piercing me. "We are all well-aware of who you are. Being that you have made a positive impact on number VIII, number XIV, and number VI, I will allow your presence, but know that if any word of this meeting reaches your brother, you will suffer the consequences. Agreed?"

I gulped as they all narrowed their eyes at me. How do I get myself into these messes? Why couldn't I just be a normal kid at a normal school without deadly rivalries and embarrassing antics? Guess I better just go with it than suffer a painful and bloody death at their hands.

"A-agreed," I stammered.

"Good, now I have also heard great things about you from number VI. Given that you have found yourself a popular little niche amongst our members, I think it appropriate to induct you into our group."

Induct me?! Why was everything I became a part of sounding like a cult? "Oh, th-that's really not necessary. I-I'm only here because Xion asked me to…"

He frowned and reached into his bag before retrieving a clipboard, which he handed to me. "It is a pity, then, that I do not accept no for an answer."

I sighed and looked down at the clipboard. A list of names, numbers, and titles were all going down the page. What made me curious was why Xion was number XIV when there was clearly an empty spot in number XIII. Was that one reserved for someone? I scanned the paper and quickly scribbled in my name next to number XIII.

Name. Number. Title

_Xemnas Ansem. Number I. Superior_

_Xigbar Braig. Number II. Freeshooter_

_Xaldin Dilan. Number III. Whirlwind Lancer_

_Vexen Even. Number IV. Chilly Academic_

_Lexaeus Aeleus. Number V. Silent Hero_

_Zexion Ienzo. Number VI. Cloaked Schemer_

_Saïx Isa. Number VII. Luna Diviner_

_Axel Lea. Number VIII. Flurry of Dancing Flames_

_Demyx Myde. Number IX. Melodious Nocturne_

_Luxord Rould. Number X. Gambler of Fate_

_Marluxia Lumaria. Number XI. Graceful Assassin_

_Larxene Arlene. Number XII. Savage Nymph_

_Roxas Destati. Number XIII._

_Xion Oni. Number XIV._

Huh, everyone's name is… an anagram of his or her last name with an X in it… I guess that makes me the odd one out. And where do these titles come from?! Okay, Superior makes sense, and so does Chilly Academic, but what is with some of these other things? I can only wonder what Xemnas is gonna title me as.

"Roxas Destati. You shall be known as… the Key of Destiny," he said, scribbling it down next to my name. Uh… okay? I feel like that's a really important-sounding name for someone who just entered your weird cult club thing.

"Aw, you got a title? Lucky!" said Xion. I realized then that she seemed to be on the outs with their group. I mean being number XIV in a club called Organization XIII and not getting a title kinda makes it seem like they don't want her.

"Good, now that everything is settled, let us-"

Xemnas was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. In stepped a mean-looking girl with… antennae for hair… She looked pissed off and threw her bag onto the ground by the door.

"Ugh, sorry I'm late. My stupid stepfather made me drag this thing along."

And then everything stopped. It was as if nothing else in the world mattered in that single moment. Maybe everything was still continuing around me, but time froze when I saw her walk in behind the mean girl. It was just so opportune that Axel's music player _happened _to start playing _Crazy for You _by Madonna at that exact moment she walked in.

She looked frail, delicate even, with long blonde locks and soft facial features. Her bright blue eyes gazed down towards her plain white dress, and I couldn't stop thinking about how pretty she was. She seemed timid; afraid of the situation she'd just found herself in. I could relate, having been attacked too many times in a short span of time. I wanted only to look at her directly so I could gaze right into the beautiful eyes that I'd only managed to glimpse momentarily, but she wouldn't look up.

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Well, those pleasant thoughts came to a screeching halt.

Axel sighed. "Chill out, Larxene. This is Roxas, not Ven. He looks like Ven, but he's Roxas. Got it memorized?"

A few members groaned at his overused catchphrase. I for one thought it was funny that he, Demyx, and Luxord all had their own catchphrases. They may have been annoying, but it perfectly reflects their personalities. Axel's playful "Got it memorized?" is completely opposite from Demyx's "I knew they picked the wrong guy for the job" or some variation of that. Luxord's was simply "I'd rather we just skip the formalities", so I guess he either likes his shroud of mystery or is just impatient.

"Pull up a seat next to Roxas, Naminé," Axel said to the shy girl. Naminé, what a nice name. Unique, but not too exotic that I can't pronounce it. "Uh, Roxas, you've gotta scoot over when someone wants to sit next to you."

"Huh? Oh, s-sorry," I said, noticing that Naminé was standing right in front of me.

She sat down quietly as I scooted over. The couch was a little tight with four of us on it, but I didn't want it to seem awkward if I chose to sit on the floor instead. Xemnas began his meeting, but since I had no idea what he was talking about I thought I might try to talk to this dime of a girl sitting beside me. Hopefully I don't get in trouble for talking while he's talking. Man, this is like school after school…

"Hey, uh, Naminé?" I whispered. She didn't look up, but she did turn her head to briefly glance at me. "Er, I'm Roxas. Roxas Destati."

She didn't really react, so I held my palm open for her to shake. Unlike a normal person though, she seemed almost afraid to shake my hand. Hers was quaking as she slowly reached towards it. When she finally got her hand to mine, she didn't even shake it; she just kind of brushed her fingers against mine before dropping her hand again.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"Roxas," said Xemnas, stealing my attention from the girl beside me. Oh crap, I'm gonna get in trouble for talking. Goodbye again, cruel world! "You have gained my trust, but the fact that your brother is one of our rivals weighs heavily on my mind. Perhaps you could step outside for a moment while I discuss this with the others."

It was more of a statement than a request, but I was happy to comply. What I wasn't expecting when I stood up was for Naminé to rise as well. None of the others seemed to notice or care, so I shrugged it off and allowed her to follow me out the door. Once we were outside, she actually spoke, albeit very quietly.

"R-Roxas, was it?" she stammered. I nodded with a smile, hoping to make her feel more comfortable. "It's nice to meet you."

Yes, I'd gotten through to her! Well, sort of anyway. "Nice to meet you too. Sorry if this comes off as rude or anything, but you don't really seem to fit in with them. In fact, you weren't on the list for their club thing. How do you know them?"

She shifted on her heels a bit, looking a little uncomfortable. I don't know if it was a sensitive question or something, but from the look of it she didn't really know what to say to me.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" I said, though I secretly hoped that she would.

"No, i-it's alright. I'm not actually in the Organization with them. Larxene is my stepsister and my father thinks I need to be more sociable, so he often sends me places with her. She hates me through and through, and I'm not especially fond of her, so most of the time we don't speak."

"Oh, that's, uh, unfortunate." Wow, good one, Roxas. This conversation's kind of dying already, but I don't know how to keep it going. Come on; think of something!

"Where are you from, Roxas?" she asked out of the blue.

"I'm actually from here," I responded, relieved that she kept our conversation going, "but I went to school in Twilight Town. I still don't really know why my mom wanted me to come here for school."

"Twilight Town… Xion and I are both from there. We didn't know each other then, but it was both our old home. I moved here when my dad married Larxene's mom."

"Ah, I see. Uh… what do you like to do for fun, Naminé?" Man, conversation continuity is definitely not my forte…

Despite the randomness of my question, she smiled one of the prettiest, cutest smiles I've ever seen. "I like drawing and painting. I've always loved doing arts and crafts ever since I was little. There are even some pictures of me with finger paints from when I was a baby. My mom used to help me with my artwork until she passed away. I was eight."

I could see her happy expression drop at the mention of her mother. Shoot, I didn't mean to make her upset, but somehow I bring that out in people. First Xion, now Naminé; damn, someone higher up must hate me.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that… It must've been rough."

"It was, but I'm better now. It was such a long time ago, so I've moved on since then. I miss her, but I don't let it affect me in a bad way." Huh, hidden behind her shy, adorable exterior belies the heart of a soldier, wounded but carrying on strong. Who would have thunk it?

"Roxas," she said, "do you think you're making the right choice… joining Organization XIII? Wouldn't you be safer sticking with your brother? They could be saying bad things about your brother's group if they don't want you in there."

I hadn't really considered what would happen between Ven and I now that I had involuntarily joined his rivals. "I dunno," I responded truthfully, "I can't just look inside, you know? But I figure if something were going on in there, I would feel it. Does that make any sense?"

She smiled and lightly squeezed my hands. I noticed the blush on her cheeks as she did so, and couldn't stop myself from blushing as well. She just looked too darn cute like this! I wasn't expecting someone shy like her to even consider touching my hands, especially after that pathetic excuse for a handshake.

"I think I understand," she said before releasing my hands; I felt some sort of odd disappointment when she did so. "You've made some friendships with them, and you wouldn't want to throw those away just so Ven will be happy."

Well, like I said before, I just hadn't really thought about it, but Naminé seemed to have a very viable reason for my actions. Maybe that really was the reason, but I just hadn't given it any thought. I may have only known Xion and Axel for one afternoon, but those are friendships that I wouldn't give up for anything. And of course if I hadn't come here today, I wouldn't have gotten to meet the beautiful girl in front of me.

"Uh, y-yeah. Yeah! I mean they're all new friendships, but I value friendship highly. Other than getting to know my brother's friends better, Xion was the first friend I made today! And without her I wouldn't have gotten to meet Axel. And then of course, if I hadn't come here today after befriending Axel I wouldn't have gotten to meet you. Three new friends in one day isn't so bad, and it opens up the doors to all sorts of new people!"

She giggled at my enthusiasm, but I could see a light blush creeping onto her face. "You… you consider me a… a friend?"

"Huh, well, yeah, of course I do. Should I consider you something else?"

"No, no, it's just that… well, no one really wants to be my friend. I'm not very sociable, so I only have a select few friends."

"Well, then I hope I can join that VIP list of friends you have," I said playfully, earning another cute giggle.

"Of course I'll add you to the list, friend. I think we could become the best of friends!"

Heh, well that was more than I bargained for, but I was happy to accept her offer. Two new friends, a bunch of my brother's friends, ten new acquaintances, and, most importantly, a new best friend in the form of the prettiest girl I've ever met.

Good first day, you ask? Well, you tell me.

* * *

Yaaay they've met up! I was a bit nervous as to how detailed I wanted some of these things to be, but I think I found a good balance. I didn't want to overload you guys with ridiculous amounts of descriptions, but at the same time I wanted this chapter to be a bit more descriptive since Roxas got to meet so many new people. I also like playing around with quotes from the game if you haven't noticed, so hopefully I can keep doing that in the future.

Anyway, I'm glad with how this chapter turned out, but you'll have to let me know in your reviews! Also check out my soundcloud (link on my profile) because I just posted a new song that draws inspiration from the songs _**Musique pour la Tristesse de Xion **_and _**Organization XIII**_. No, it doesn't sound like either of them, but I had a number of songs to draw inspiration from, not just KH music.

See ya next chapter!

_-GengaJupite_


	4. Roxas, don't! Too much PDA!

Sorry about the slightly longer wait, but I had a bit of trouble going off of that last chapter. I didn't mess it up or anything, I just wasn't sure exactly how to start this one off.

Thanks to **X-blade025 **and **roxasduelwielder** for reviewing!

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Roxas, don't! Too much PDA!_

"Hey, Roxas, I forgot to ask you something yesterday," said Ven as we were heading to school the next day.

"Well, ask away then."

"Where'd you end up going after school? I didn't expect you to get that tight with anyone on the first day!"

I had to try hard to keep a straight face. Could I tell him where I went? I wanted to prolong this for as long as possible, but I don't know if it would work so well. It's not completely unlikely that one of them might say something to me in PE or if Demyx decides to chat in music. Will Ven be angry with me? We argue and mess around, but I don't want him to be legitimately angry with me; he is my brother after all.

"Roxas? Hellooooo?" Ven waved a hand in front of my face, breaking my thoughts.

"Oh, I, uh, just went to… to…" Oh, crap, gotta think of something fast! "I went to hang out with this girl… Naminé! I bumped into her, she dropped some stuff, long story, but now we're friends."

Ven looked at me skeptically before shrugging. Phew, he bought that phony story. At least Naminé wasn't someone I made up; otherwise he'd know if it gets brought up later.

"I'm assuming she's a looker since you took her out after one run-in?" said Ven.

"Yeah, I'll say," I chuckled, thinking of how pretty she is, "I don't think I've ever met someone as cute as her."

"Nice, well, I bet my rugged good looks helped you out," he laughed.

"Pfft, I'm the better-looking one, stupid!" I laughed as well, shoving him lightly.

Twin jokes never seem to get old between the two of us. In fact, I'm pretty sure that we're the ones making them most of the time. We probably argue over our looks more than girls do; not because we actually think one of us is better looking, but because it's funny. Besides, I actually _am_ the more attractive twin.

It was a funny walk to school, but each step closer was a fearful reminder that I would be faced with Ven or the Organization. As terrible as it may sound, I probably wouldn't have befriended Xion if I knew who she was yesterday. Sure, she's a cool person and everything, but I nearly got killed multiple times because of her, not to mention that my brother and his friends might try to kill me when they find out who my new 'friends' are. She just _had_ to be in the one group that Ven and the others can't stand. Just my luck that this would happen.

"What's with the frown, Roxas?" said Sora when we got to the school.

"Huh? I-I'm not frowning! This is my regular face."

"Heh, then you need to smile more often so your regular face isn't so sullen!"

Sora's not the brightest kid, but he's usually good for a chuckle or two. After seeing that he'd successfully gotten me to feel a bit better, he ran off to where Kairi and Riku were standing by the front doors. We started to follow after him, but my anxiety levels must've shot way up when I saw Xion and Axel walk out the doors behind them. Man, there was no way I'd be getting out of this situation alive.

To my greatest surprise, I saw Axel do some weird salute and Xion say hi to the three of them. Wait, this doesn't make sense! If Axel and Xion are in the Organization, why are they being friendly with Sora, Kairi, and Riku?! I can't exactly ask Ven because I'm not technically supposed to know whom the Organization members are, remember? Damn, though, this doesn't make the least bit of sense…

"Roxas!"

Shit, Xion, nooooo! My cover's blown! I'm ruined! Ven's gonna kill me! He's gonna try attacking me and then Axel's gonna defend me and everyone's gonna get in a huge fight and it's ALL MY FAULT! Dammit, Xion, why'd you have to say my name?! NooooooooooOOOOOOoooooOOOOOo ooOOooOooOo!

"How's it going, Ven?" Axel said coolly as we got closer to them. Wait, am I completely missing something here?!

"Not bad," Ven shrugged, heading towards Sora and the others. I would've followed, but Axel pulled me away.

"Hey, buddy, where you think you're going?" he laughed, spinning me around.

"I… I… I…" I sputtered. My brain was pretty much broken right now.

"You what?! Preach, Roxas, preach!" Axel patted me on the back, continuing to laugh.

"I thought you guys and my brother were super arch enemies! Nemeses! Warriors on opposite sides of the battlefield! School rivals! Real life rivals!"

Xion and Axel blinked and slowly built up their laughter. I don't know if this is some cruel prank or if everyone here is just insane! Stupid public school kids with their stupid nonsensical drama. I had to wait at least five minutes before they stopped laughing.

"Roxas, Axel and I are too cool for anyone to hate," Xion giggled. Was she being serious?!

"That doesn't really answer my question…" I said, crossing my arms.

"Well, put it this way," said Axel, "the two of us actually get along with your brother and his crew just fine. We're the only two Organization members that actually don't fight with him and his buddies. Didn't you wonder why I actually invited you to my place instead of attacking you like everyone else did?"

I guess I hadn't really thought of it that way. It's true though; had Axel been like the others, I doubt he would've invited me over unless the plan was to get his friends to kill me… I suppose Xion wouldn't mind befriending me either if she has no beef with Ven.

"I think this is starting to make sense… But if they see me with you, won't they suspect that something Organization-related is going on?"

"Maybe, but I don't think you should be so worried, man," he reassured, though I was far from comfortable with the situation.

"Roxas, just relax for a second," said Xion. "You're talking to the two members that they actually get along with. If anything, they'll just think that we're in a class together, which we are, so I think you're in the clear."

The bell went off as I was about to respond, stealing my attention as people began heading into the school. The three of us headed into the school together before parting ways in the foyer. I had to get all of these stupid facts straight now. Ven and the Organization are on bad terms, but Xion and Axel are the exceptions. Assuming that's how it goes, I'm okay to talk to those two in public, but I could be screwed if any of the other Organization members speak to me in front of Ven or his friends. Basically I'm doomed in music, because Demyx is a talkative guy…

After changing and sitting with Ven in the gym, I glanced around nervously to see where the Organization members were. I wasn't too worried about Xemnas and Marluxia since they have to sit with their grade, but the thought of Zexion saying something was causing me a lot of stress. He may be a quiet guy, but there's still the chance he might do something that would blow my cover.

"Roxas, you okay?" Tidus nudged me, forcing me to look at him.

"Huh, yeah, why do you ask?"

"Looks like you seen a ghost, brudda! You lookin' for someone, ya?" said Wakka.

"Looking for someone? N-no! Why would I be doing that?"

The two of them gave me curious looks, but said no more. Ven, on the other hand, had been staring at me oddly ever since we sat down. Did he know? Was I being suspected of something? Day two of a new school and I'm possibly going to die at the hands of my own kin, my own flesh and blood, my own DNA!

My eyes flew to the door when I saw Zexion walk in in his mostly-black PE strip. Oh no, do I hide?! What should I do?! If I'm obvious about hiding Ven will notice, but if I don't hide then Zexion might say something. He might be a quiet kid, but we're still… friends? I dunno if I'd call us friends yet, but he's someone that I know a bit more personally at the school. Ack, he's getting closer!

I was probably making more of a scene over whether I should hide or not. Tidus and Wakka were giving me some confused looks, but Ven still had that odd stare. It was as if he were gazing into my soul, trying to figure out why I was acting so weird. I bet the whole encounter with Xion and Axel _did_ reveal something to him. I knew they were being too passive! No, Zexion's only a few feet away! Goodbye, cruel world! I've said that too many times in the past two days…

…Okay, I think I was overreacting… Not only did Zexion not say anything to me, but I don't think he even acknowledged us! I mean yesterday he kinda glared before taking his seat, but today he just walked on by as if we didn't exist. Shoot, all that freaking out for nothing. Ven definitely knows something's up. I guess there's no way of avoiding an interrogation at lunch.

_TWEEEEET!_ blew the whistle. Ah, well, if there's anything good about this morning, it's getting to see Ms. Lockhart. Maybe having a hot teacher to distract me from the drama will be a good thing.

"Morning, everybody!" she shouted happily, earning some wolf whistles. Seriously, is that a regular thing for this school? Seems a bit… perverted.

"Tens and elevens, we're going out to the track for some relays. Twelves stay in here with Mr. Strife! I don't know what he has planned, but I can assure you that you're all gonna sweat today!"

Someone near the back yelled out 'that's what she said', causing people to laugh as we all got up to head outside. Once we were out by the turf field, Ms. Lockhart split us up into teams of four. I got grouped with Tidus, Selphie, and who else but Zexion… It couldn't have just been some random I don't know, it had to be two of my brother's friends and one guy that they can't stand; one guy who happens to be an acquaintance of mine.

For the race, we each had to run one lap each. It wasn't a huge deal, but I'm sure that after three or four races, we'd all be pretty tired. Ven's team happened to be in the first relay against us and two other teams that I didn't know. His team looked pretty intimidating just by sizing them up: Wakka, Rikku, Shiki, and Ven himself. I guess they know what they're doing in terms of races since that's the order they were going in. I have no idea if Zexion is a fast runner or not, but the odds didn't look good that he was going against Wakka for the first lap. The first person for each team took their place, got themselves set to run, and took off at the sound of Ms. Lockhart's whistle.

Holy crap, Zexion can run?! To think I was worried about him being one of the slower people because he's so skinny. Not only did he prove that he's capable of running, but he's actually beating Wakka and the other two! This kid's athletic (well, I suppose yesterday's battle didn't really count as athleticism for him) abilities are blowing my mind! Sheesh, look at him go; he's about to round the last turn!

He handed the baton off to Tidus, who now had a huge lead on the other teams. I couldn't help but stare as he walked over towards Selphie and I, hardly breathing heavily at all. Screw the rivalry; I need to congratulate this guy!

"Whoa, Zexion, I didn't know you were so… fast!"

He glanced at me, his expression unfaltering, though I could still make out the ghost of a smile. I could see Ven giving me that odd look again, but I could care less this time. Besides, congratulating a teammate shouldn't be seen as fraternizing with the enemy, right? Right.

Tidus was rounding the last turn, nearly half the track separating him and the other runners. Man, I didn't realize Tidus was so fast either! I mean yesterday when he was jumping around with his sword I could tell he was agile, but somehow I didn't click that and running speed together. Whatever, looks like we're gonna win this race. Go, Selphie!

And then Tidus handed her the baton. That's when I realized that we might actually lose… How should I put this nicely? Let's just say that Selphie was quite a bit slower than Zexion and Tidus were. In fact, not only had we lost our huge lead by the time she rounded the final turn, but Shiki was actually passing her! Looks like I'm gonna have some ground to make up. Ven and I may be twins, but I can definitely outrun him!

"Get ready to lose, Ven!" I taunted him.

"We need to talk," he said flatly, basically ignoring my competitiveness.

He took off before I could respond, and I felt the baton hit my hand a few seconds after. I was still in competition mode, but now I had to catch up to Ven for a different reason. Usually he was quite a bit more upbeat, so the fact that he said that so seriously was getting to me. I had a bad feeling about this. I knew that he was suspecting something of me, but I didn't think he'd be able to piece it together so quickly. All I did was speak with Xion and Axel, and then congratulate Zexion after his race…

"What are you playing at, Roxas?" huffed a voice from beside me. I guess I must have caught up to Ven without even realizing.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid with me, what's the deal?"

"…Is… is this because I was talking to those two this morning?"

"Partly, but you've been acting weird all morning, then I see you looking around nervously for people in our gym class, and then you go saying something to Zexion?!"

"So? I met those two in class, and it's only natural to congratulate a teammate."

"Roxas, you know that's not what I mean."

"What's your problem, Ven? Why are you so concerned with me talking to them?!"

"Because they're dangerous!"

I didn't respond to him. I knew where he was coming from, but he had no right to tell me whom I could and couldn't speak to. If I was making new friends, shouldn't he just leave me alone and let me do it? Who cares if I'm not always there with you and your group, Ven? Hell, if I didn't befriend Xion yesterday, I wouldn't have gotten to meet the prettiest girl I've ever met! Would you deny me the right of befriending Naminé?!

I was the first one to cross the finish line, but was too pissed off to care about the congratulatory high-fives and stuff. Ven can't just tell me what to do. So what if I'm the new kid? I can make my own decisions! We're sixteen; I don't need him to tell me who my friends are!

"Roxas, you okay?" Selphie asked when I walked by her.

"Fine," I said gruffly. Out of spite, I decided to stand right by Zexion. If becoming friends with the Organization was what Ven didn't want, then I was going to do it for that very reason. He should learn to live his life and let me live mine. We're twins, not exact copies.

"Good job…"

Wait, did Zexion just say something to me? Did he just _congratulate_ me?! He didn't even say something nice after I did yesterday! I gazed at him for a moment. He wasn't looking at me, but the statement was clearly directed at me. His mouth was curled up into the slightest smile, and it was certainly not something I was expecting from the quiet kid.

"Thanks," I said, smiling back.

Ven was panting when he crossed the finish line, but he still managed to glare at me. Go on, keep glaring, Ven, it won't stop me from being me! I saw him exchange a few words with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, but he didn't bother coming over to me.

"You're troubled," Zexion said, still not looking directly at me.

"I am me; nobody else. If he can't accept that I'm not him, then maybe he and I can only be brothers by blood. I won't let him tell me how to live my life."

"…How very… rash of you."

"You think I'm in the wrong?"

"No, but the way you tackle your problems is quite different than my own methods."

"Well, this is who I am; take me or leave me."

"Heh, you will make a fine addition to the Organization, Roxas."

"As long as I'm the one making my decisions, nothing else matters."

Zexion said nothing else, leaving me to my thoughts. I am the author of my own fate. I write my destiny. No one will choose for me. If they can't accept me for who I choose to be, then they don't deserve to be my friends. I'm sorry, Sora, Aqua, and all of you who saw me for me.

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

Math went by quickly, and lunch followed soon after. Though he didn't understand why, Sora allowed me to go off without him. He would hear the news from Ven in a little while anyway. Having finally remembered where my locker is, I made my way over to it and switched the things I had in my bag.

Up until this point, I hadn't really thought about where I would go if I weren't going to hang out with Ven anymore. I can't exactly say if I'm close enough with the Organization to go sit with them. I don't even know where they hang out! I didn't see them anywhere out front yesterday, so they could've been anywhere.

Closing my locker, I sighed and decided to wander around the school. I should at least look for them, and even if I can't find them at least I can figure out the layout of this place. It's embarrassing enough to ask for directions everywhere, so this wandering won't be a total waste.

I headed down the hallway of lockers and turned right. I know that the first floor is pretty much just the auditorium/theatre stage, main foyer, office, and gym, so I should probably wander around the third floor. I haven't actually been there yet, so it would probably be a good time to check it out while it isn't so crowded. I found the staircase after a few minutes and ascended the steps.

The first thing I realized about the top floor was that it was really hot. Yeesh, I guess the AC isn't as effective when you get all the heat rising to the top floor, not to mention the numerous windows that are letting all the sunlight in. I walked down the hall, peeking my head in several classrooms to see what they were. From the look of it, most of these rooms were science- or art-related. Other than a couple computer labs, most of the rooms had a bunch of sink stations with either beakers and chemical tubs or different sculptures and paintings by them.

As I reached the end of the hall where another staircase was found, some light humming from one of the rooms could be heard. There were a few people hanging around in some of the classrooms I'd looked in, but I think almost everyone sits out front. It couldn't hurt to take a peek into this last room, and besides, whoever was humming sounded pretty good; well, as good as humming can sound that is.

"Naminé?" I said in surprise, noticing the humming girl to be none other than my new friend.

"Eep!" she jumped, dropping a palette she was carrying to the sink. "Oh, Roxas, you scared me!"

"Sorry," I apologized, walking in to help her clean up the small spill. "What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, I…" she trailed off, blushing a bit and dropping her gaze. Wow, she certainly is cute when she's acting all bashful like this. "I come in here to work on my art."

That's it? Why would that be embarrassing? After all, wasn't it her who told me all about her passion for drawing and painting yesterday? Sure, it ended with her getting upset about her deceased mother, but that look on her face when she spoke about her artwork was just so… mesmerizing!

"Neat! I just thought that, seeing as it's a nice day and all, you might be outside with some friends."

She kept blushing and looked up at me, only to drop her gaze again when she saw me smiling at her. "Um, well, remember when I said I don't have many friends?"

"Yeah, I just figured you'd be out there with those select few."

"I suppose, but Xion, Kairi, Sora, and Riku are my only friends. Oh, and you of course. Xion is always with the Organization at lunch, and Sora and them have other things to do than hang out with me…"

How it pains me to see her hurting like this. She really doesn't see how great of a person she is! If she just tried to get out there a bit more, I'm sure she would have tons of friends!

"Naminé… you're being too hard on yourself!" I exclaimed as I wiped up the last of the paint on the floor.

"M-maybe, but I like painting…"

"Maybe so, but I think you need to get out there a little more!"

"What do you mean, Roxas?"

"Well, since neither of us know many people at this school, why don't we go hang out outside together?"

"Together? Like… j-just you and me?" she said, her cheeks turning a bright scarlet colour.

"Yeah, I mean," I said, smiling and taking one of her hands in my own, "aren't these the kinds of things best friends do?"

"Heehee, I think so," she giggled, allowing me to lead her out of the room.

Luckily I still knew how to get outside, so the two of us quickly made our way down the stairs and out front without getting lost. Okay, maybe we got a bit lost, but Naminé didn't seem to mind, considering she was just giggling the whole time. I had a pretty good laugh too. Something about her just made me feel… right: like her friendship was the only one that mattered. I guess that's what happens when you make a new friend, or best friend for that matter. And if we were going to be best friends, then we needed to do all sorts of things together from this point on.

We both burst out the front doors in giggles, not caring about the odd glances we received from onlookers. I quickly scanned for an area where we could hang out without having any awkward confrontations. Finding a comfy-looking spot under a tree that was far from Ven and the others, I led us over there at a normal walking pace.

"Um, Roxas," Naminé said timidly.

"What is it, Nam?"

"You… you're still holding my hand," she said, blushing profusely.

Sure enough, I looked to see that I was still holding onto her, despite the fact that we weren't running around anymore. Quickly as I could, I let go and apologized, mimicking her ever-reddening cheeks. All I could do was chuckle and scratch the back of my neck. I hadn't meant to hold her hand, but it certainly felt nice.

We took our seat beneath the tree and looked out at all the crowds of people sitting and talking or walking around with their friends. Now that I was in a better mood, I started feeling a bit guilty about yelling at Ven earlier. True, he should let me live my own life, but I know that he's just looking out for me. I should probably apologize to him when we get home.

"So, what do we do now that we're out here," Naminé asked, breaking my thought bubble.

"Oh, uh," I chuckled, running my hand through my hair, "to tell you the truth, I didn't think on it much. I just figured you needed to get outside."

She giggled a bit; my heart melted at the sound of her light laugh. "Well, why don't we go sit with your friends? I guess some of them are mine too, but I always thought they only considered me as just someone they knew."

"I… I got in an argument with Ven earlier. I'd rather wait to make amends with him when I get home. I don't really know if I'm comfortable going over there until I can see things through with him."

"Oh," she said, sounding a bit disheartened, "that must be hard. I've never really gotten close enough to anyone to get hurt like that…"

Despite her obvious poignancy, I couldn't stop the laugh that was coming up. She looked at me oddly, forcing me to explain myself.

"Hehe, sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help thinking 'who would ever want to hurt this cute little face'?" I said, lightly pinching her cheeks.

She blushed hard, but laughed anyway. "Roxas, don't!" she cried, slapping my hands away. "Too much PDA!"

"Heh, you know that typically only applies to couples, right?" I said, feeling my cheeks grow a bit warm at the thought.

"Oh, heehee, oops," she chuckled, cheeks burning an even deeper crimson. I don't think she deals with embarrassment well. Whatever, her blushing is adorable!

Neither of us said anything for a little while after that. The silence wasn't uncomfortable; we just didn't really have anything to say at the moment. We probably looked stupid with the big grins on our faces while we people watched. Actually, it probably looks creepier than it does stupid. That thought alone made me grin even wider. I probably look like a moron, a _creepy_ moron.

Looking around, I could see a few people that I kinda half know. Shiki and Neku from my PE class were standing over by the side with some of their other friends. I could see some of the girls from my music class standing by the statue. I think one of them is named Terra, which is funny because she looks so girly compared to boy Terra who pretty much defines the word man.

My gaze eventually fell on Ven and the others. They were all talking and laughing about something or other. Ven, Aqua, and Terra were all chatting away as per usual while Ven would occasionally get playfully riled up with Terra. Yuna and Tidus were flirting over to one side of the group, though Rikku and some angry-looking girl I hadn't met were buzzing around them with Selphie and Wakka. It dawned on me then that I hadn't seen Sora, Riku, or Kairi over there with them. You'd think that with Sora's spikes or Kairi's hair colour that they'd be easy to spot.

"There you are, Roxas!" said a chipper voice. Well, speak of the devils.

"Oh, and Naminé's with you!" said Kairi as the three of them came to sit with us.

"I thought you guys would be over with Ven…" I said somberly.

"We were," Riku jumped in, "but we saw you guys sitting over here by yourselves. Thought we'd be good friends and join you!" I stole a glance at Naminé, giving her a look that said 'see, I told you they think of you as a friend'.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Naminé?" said Sora, laying himself on the ground beside her.

"I-I suppose," she said shyly.

"No need to be so shy, Naminé, we're all friends here!" said Kairi.

Sora, Kairi, and Naminé all engaged in some sort of conversation about shyness. Eventually I could see that she was getting more comfortable, so I turned my gaze to Riku, who surprised me by staring back. He didn't look angry, but it was almost as if he was trying to concentrate on me. Don't know what he was trying to do, but if the point was to creep me out, then he certainly succeeded.

"Roxas," he said, leaving the others to their conversation.

"Riku," I mirrored him in a feeble attempt of humour.

"Ven told us what's going on," he said with neither anger nor sympathy in his voice.

"I see… and?"

"I just… I hope you know what you're doing," he sighed. At least he wasn't trying to sway me the way Ven had.

"What's the deal between all of you guys anyway? I know you have issues, but shouldn't I have the right to make my own decisions? I'd like for all of us to stay friends, but I think I should be allowed to make my own friends too."

"Of course, and I'm not trying to tell you that you can't," he said, though it sounded a bit like he was. "The thing is, we've never really had any good experiences with them in the past. There's no specific incident that I can think of, but I know a few have ended in more than just verbal arguments."

"Gee, but what started it all?"

"Truth be told, I can't remember. I know that we never really got along, but somewhere along the way it just started getting heated. I think the rivalry solidified when Terra had to go to the hospital. I'm assuming you've met them all, so I'll just refer to them by name. Basically he, Lexaeus, and Xaldin got into a huge brawl that got them all sent away in stretchers. Ever since then there's been this lasting hatred."

I took a moment to process the thought. Terra taking on Lexaeus _and_ Xaldin at the same time?! I thought those guys could outmuscle him, but apparently he was good enough to take on both of them at once. I never imagined that their rivalry would get each other sent to the hospital though. Even for a public school, this is getting a little over the top, isn't it?

"I… I don't know what to say," I mumbled. "I never thought that your issues were so intense."

"Don't worry too much, Roxas. I know Ven really doesn't like the idea of you getting in with them, but I can see that that isn't enough to stop you. I just want you to be careful. It's hard to see any good out of you befriending them, but if it's what you want then we have no right to stop you. When in doubt, go with your gut feeling."

As blunt as he was, I was happy that Riku was concerned about me. It made me feel good to know that he wasn't going to stop me from making my own decisions.

"Thanks, Riku."

"No problem."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi got up after a few minutes and went back to Ven and the others, leaving Naminé and I alone again. She seemed happy to have loosened up, but my mind was racing with Riku's words. It was hard to imagine that such hatred could exist between young people, but sometimes that's how things work out I guess.

"You okay, Roxas?" said Naminé. Man, that's gotta be the third time someone's asked me that today.

"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Oh, I heard what you and Riku were talking about," she said, tone shifting down a bit. "I… I can't say that I disagree with them, Roxas."

"What?" I asked incredulously. "How can you say that? We wouldn't even be friends if not for them!"

"I know, and I'm grateful that we're friends now, but he's not wrong about the dangers associated with Organization XIII. There's some things, some _secrets_, that can't be overlooked about them. I… I'm scared you might get hurt."

I looked at her, staring deeply into her eyes. There was such sadness, such sorrow in the deep blue orbs staring back at me. She'd seen things that she hoped I never would. What were these terrible secrets? What were the strange goings-on with these people I'd associated myself with? Why did this affect Ven and Naminé so much? These were all questions I wanted answered. But I couldn't ask her. It would break her heart if I pushed these painful things upon her.

"Don't worry about me, Nam," I said taking her hand. "Nothing will happen. I won't let them get to me. They won't hurt us."

I'm not sure why I said us, but it seemed more appropriate than saying they wouldn't hurt me. She blushed at my touch, but seemed not to notice it. She squeezed my hand, forcing a light blush from me as well. "Promise?"

I lightly squeezed her hand back, giving her a warm smile, "I promise."

* * *

Woohoo, fluff! The RokuNami fluff has officially begun! I feel like it's been a while since I've written fluff in a chapter. The last story I did ended a bit more tragically, so the fluff stopped around the mid-late chapters. I honestly don't know how the fluffiness for this story is going to go, but hopefully it'll be present in most of the chapters.

I hope no one thought that I made the two of them get close too quickly. My thought process was that neither of them have many people they can call friends, so when they become friends with each other it just sort of springs to life. I dunno if it works for you, but the idea made sense to me :P

Anyway, review and check out my soundcloud (link on my profile)! I just posted a new song with some minor inspiration from _**Destiny Islands**_ (the slow version).

Thanks for reading!

_-GengaJupite_


	5. Mr the Wise? ! What are you doing here?

Writer's block suuuuuucks! I wish I'd planned out this plot a little more thoroughly because I have no idea how I want some of these chapters to go. Usually I just go with whatever I end up writing down in the moment, so hopefully this isn't too bad of a chapter. Sorry if there's a lot of mistakes but I was too tired to edit it more than once.

Thanks to **X-blade025** for reviewing!

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Mr. the Wise?! What are _you_ doing here?_

I walked home alone today. I'm not sure if Ven was with other people or if he'd just left without me, but something tells me that he was purposely avoiding me right now. I suppose I can't really blame him; this is exactly what I was trying to avoid though. Hopefully we can patch things up at home. I'd really rather not let things get messed up between us.

I dropped my bag on the ground when I got into my house. Ven's stuff wasn't there, so he's probably still hanging out with Aqua and people. Well, it's a Tuesday, so he won't be staying out too late today. I'll just have to talk to him when he gets here.

Ven didn't get home much later than I did. It was probably only twenty minutes after I got home that I heard the front door open. If I hadn't been in the middle of making a snack I would've gone to speak with him. Seems like he still doesn't want to see me though. I heard him quickly make his way upstairs and into his room. Damn, this is gonna be a lot more difficult than I wanted.

Once I'd finished eating, I made my way upstairs and stopped in front of his door. I guess I was pretty hesitant, because I stood there for a while before actually doing anything. What was I supposed to say to him? He probably wanted an apology, but he really should've been the one apologizing! No, I need to stop these thoughts right now. If I get upset about them again, this conflict is never gonna get resolved. I'll just sort this out and go with it.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked. "Ven, you busy?"

I heard some shuffling from the other side of the door, but I didn't get a response. I reached for the doorknob, but he'd already locked it. Typical.

"Can we talk this out?" I asked, though the idea was starting to crumble away.

"What's to talk about? You chose them over us," he answered harshly. He seemed quite unlike himself right now. Had I really pissed him off that badly?

"I just… I wanted to apologize…"

He didn't say anything, but after a few moments of silence I heard footsteps from the other side of the door. I heard the lock unclick, and the door opened to reveal Ven leaning cross-armed against the doorway.

"You're gonna apologize?" he asked skeptically.

"I didn't want things to get out of hand this early in the year… Look, I know you're just trying to look out for me, so I shouldn't have yelled, but I think I'm entitled to making my own decisions. Does that seem unfair?"

He sighed and stood straight, scratching the back of his head. "I… I guess I overreacted a bit too. I shouldn't be telling you what to do, Roxas, but there's just so much crap that goes on with them. When I saw you with Xion and Axel, it was okay, but then you started talking to Zexion in PE and Demyx in music. It just… I don't want to see you get mixed up with the wrong people…"

"I just wish someone would tell me what's wrong with them!" I said, flustered by the same vague explanations I'd been getting from everyone. "Riku said something like that and Naminé was worried about me getting hurt, but I haven't found anything so bad about them."

"I… It's not that I don't wanna tell you, Roxas, but I'm not the right person to. You're lucky that Riku got the chance to speak with you about it. He almost became part of their group, but he dropped it at the last minute. In truth, you'd probably want to take this thing up with Sora. He's… he's probably pretty biased about them, but it wouldn't seem right for me to explain it…"

Everything was just becoming so confusing. I hadn't even mentioned Sora, so why did he suddenly become so important in this? Wouldn't he have said something to me today? He certainly didn't seem upset about the news that I'd joined up with Organization XIII. Then again, maybe he was just being nice the way Riku had…

"Look, let's just put this behind us, 'kay, Roxas? I can't stop you from being friends with them, so… just promise me that you won't get _too_ close, alright?"

"…Sure, you guys are my closer friends anyway."

He fist-bumped me before closing the door and going back to whatever he was doing. That honestly could've gone better, but I wasn't going to try to squeeze answers from him. I had so many questions racing through my mind, but I suppose that all of those would have to wait. I still wanted to know how Sora fit into all of this though. Trying to piece together the happy kid with the dark Organization was just not working in my head. I'll have to ask him about it tomorrow.

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The rest of the week went by pretty much the way you'd expect a regular school week to go. I spent most of my lunch periods with Ven or Naminé, but I still hadn't figured out where all the Organization members hung out. Huh, I guess if they wanted me to hang out with them then they'd tell me where to go, right? Either way, I didn't really mind. As for asking Sora about the Organization, all I can say is that he didn't really seem like he wanted to talk about it. I was definitely getting frustrated with the lack of clarity, but there really wasn't anything I could do about it. If he didn't want to talk about it, then I couldn't force him to.

The final bell of the day rang, and I said bye to Xion before gathering up my things and heading out of the history classroom.

"Hey, Roxas," Aqua said before I left the room.

"Hmm, what is it, Aqua?"

"Just wondering if you had any plans for tonight?"

"Uh, I don't think so. Are you guys all doing something?"

"Yeah, we're gonna go hang out at The Lounge. You should come with if you don't have anything better to do!"

The Lounge would best be described as a teen club. There's a big section with lighted floors for dancing and stuff, a few rooms with couches and some TVs, and even a bunch of arcade games off to one side. There's a bar, but the bartenders are usually pretty careful about checking IDs, so it's mainly for non-alcoholic drinks.

"Sure, I'll probably swing by if something doesn't come up."

"Great! You can bring that cute little blonde friend of yours too!"

I blushed at the mention of Naminé, causing Aqua to giggle a bit. Rubbing my cheeks, I made my way out of the room and headed towards my locker. After grabbing all my things and closing the door, I jumped at the sight of Axel standing behind it.

"Hey, Roxas, what's up?" he chuckled.

"Dude, don't do that, you scared the crap outta me!"

"Haha, that was somewhat the idea." Man, if we weren't friends, I'd punch you in the stomach for something like that. "So, whatcha got planned this weekend?"

"Not much," I said, shrugging and tossing the strap of my bag over my shoulder, "I'm probably gonna go to The Lounge with some friends tonight. What about you?"

"No way, man!" he clapped me on the shoulder while ignoring my question. "Maybe I'll see you there!"

At first I was glad to hear that I'd be seeing more people I knew there, but then the realization hit me. If he was going tonight, that probably meant he'd be there with the other Organization members. Them plus Ven and the others would probably spell trouble.

"Oh, uh, whom are you going with?" I asked, hoping he would say someone other than Organization members.

"Y'know, the usual crowd." Dammit. "You probably won't see some of them much, though. If anything, you'll see me, Demyx, Xion, Larxene, and Luxord walking around, but most of the other guys like to chill out in the couch rooms."

Hearing that was a huge weight off of my chest. I'm sure that nothing will go down if only those five venture out of the room in the area where we'll probably be. I'm most likely overreacting with all of this too; I can't imagine they get in fights every time they see each other outside of school. It'd be outright stupid if that happened!

"Hey, where you going, Roxas?" Axel said as I turned towards the staircase that led up to the third floor.

"Oh… I was just going to… y'know, see where Naminé's at," I chuckled sheepishly.

The smug look on Axel's face said it all. I thought he might say something about it, but he just waved me away and turned to leave, though the smug expression never left his face. I could feel my ears get a bit hot as I slowly headed up the stairs. Stupid Axel, making me feel awkward about this…

I found Naminé in the same room I had at the beginning of the week. Apparently this was her last classroom of the day, and she liked to hang out here after school so she could work on her paintings and sketches. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with avoiding Larxene as well though.

"Hey," I said lightly, knocking on the door so she wouldn't freak out and drop something again.

"Hi, Roxas," she said sweetly, giving me a warm smile before turning back to her canvas. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I just thought I'd hang out with you for a bit before heading home," I answered honestly.

"Oh, I'm not… keeping you from anything, am I?" she asked timidly.

"Heh, how could you? _I_ came here to see _you_; you didn't ask me to. Besides, I like spending time with you. I get to see everyone else throughout the day, but we don't have any classes together."

She blushed a bit, but smiled and continued stroking the canvas with her paintbrush. Though I'd gotten pretty close to her throughout the week, she still didn't like the idea of hanging out in a moderately sized crowd like Ven's group. I figured that if I were going to get her used to hanging out with other people, I would have to do it slowly. It's not that I don't like spending one-on-one time with her, but I do think she needs to meet new people.

"So, what were you planning to do this weekend?" I asked, remembering one of the reasons I'd come to see her.

"Um," she paused for a bit to think, "I don't think I had any plans. I was probably just going to finish up some of my sketches."

No plans? Perfect. "Well, if you aren't doing anything, maybe we could hang out. I'm gonna see a few friends tonight, but you should come too. Sora, Kairi, and Riku are gonna be there, so you won't be _completely_ alone. Whaddya say?"

She stopped painting for a moment to think about it. I could tell that she was trying to consider whether or not she wanted to be around people tonight. She always makes this cute face when she's thinking hard on something, so I had to force myself from grinning too hard. She puffs up one cheek and it crinkles her nose to the side a bit. Some people might think it looks weird, but I think it's adorable, especially on someone as pretty as Naminé.

"How… how many people will be there do you think?" she asked, still weighing her options. Honestly, given that we'll be at The Lounge, there'll probably be quite a few, but I know she won't go if I say that. It can't hurt to stretch the truth just a little bit, right?

"Well, I'm guessing my brother's friends, so that's about…" I had to count on my fingers for a second, "fourteen if you include the two of us."

"That… sounds like quite a bit…" she said hesitantly. See? I knew if I said we were going to The Lounge that it would be an instant no, which is why I had to see if she's okay with fourteen.

"Put it this way then," I said reassuringly, "you know Sora, Kairi, Riku, and I, so that means that you'd only be meeting nine new people. I think a few of them are eager to meet you, too, since they've seen us hanging out before."

She blushed again before turning towards me. "People want to… meet me?"

Nice, she took the bait! Well, it's not entirely untrue; Aqua and Selphie have been wanting to meet her, though Selphie seems a little more jealous than excited. Guess that's what happens when you become a stud on the first day of school!

"Yeah, I told you that you'd meet nice people if you just give them a chance. I guess they're curious about the girl I've been spending so much time with. That's what happens when you make a new best friend though."

"I suppose, if you really want me to, I can go," she answered shyly.

"Heh, you make it sound like it's a chore," I chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll stay by your side the whole time if you want. Pinky promise."

She giggled a bit as we interlocked our pinkies. Childish antics aside, I was planning on sticking with her the whole time anyway, especially since she wasn't aware of where we were going. I just hope she doesn't get too upset or anything. Technically I didn't lie to her…

"Anyway, I should probably get going," I said after we chatted for a bit longer. "I'll text you before I come pick you up tonight. What's your address?"

"123 Sunshine Court."

"Sweet, that should be easy to remember. See you then!" I said before grabbing my things and heading out. She gave me a simple wave before going back to her painting. Tonight is gonna be a fun night.

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"So let me get this straight," said Ven as we were driving around trying to find Naminé's house, "this girl you've been spending so much time with lives _here_?"

"I-I guess so. This is Sunshine Court, right?"

"Geez, no wonder you've been getting close with her, you gold digger, you."

"Shut up, I had no idea she was loaded!"

It was sunset by the time we reached her neighbourhood, but that only made the place seem all the more intimidating. Her house, and I use the term house loosely, was about a twenty-five minute drive away from ours. Little did I expect that we'd be driving around in the rich section of Destiny Islands! I felt pretty awkward driving around all of these mansions in my plain SUV. I'm pretty sure the cheapest thing I've seen since we got here is an Escalade, and that was right near the beginning where the smaller houses were! Man, what do her parents do?!

"Holy mother of everything," Ven coughed as we pulled up to our destination.

"Shit," I muttered in intimidation and awe as I read the number 123 on the huge brown mansion before us. It looked just like the one back in Twilight Town, only it was probably twice as big as that one.

"Well, have fun meeting her parents," Ven said, shooing me out of the car.

"Are you crazy?! I-I'll just text her to come out…"

"Dude, don't be a wuss! Grow a pair and get out there!" Ven laughed as he snatched the phone from my hands. There was no sense in trying to get my phone back; Ven is the master of keep away. Sighing, I unclicked my seatbelt and forced my shaking legs to bring me to the front doors.

By the time I actually made my way up the long walkway and moderate staircase, I was a bit out of breath. No, I'm not stalling! I'm just taking a second to catch my breath and look at all the scenery. Why should a sixteen-year-old guy with a t-shirt and jeans be afraid to knock on the front door of a huge mansion that pretty much screams superiority in my face? Maybe I shouldn't knock on the door… I'll just… ring the doorbell! Yep, not stalling, just trying to decide. That door looks pretty delicate, and I'd hate to chip it with my… razor-sharp knuckles…

_Ding-dong_. Oh god, I did it! Ack, does my hair look okay? Oh, what should I say when the butler answers the door?! Dammit, I should've stalled- I mean, planned this out a bit better!

"Yes?" asked a familiar baritone voice as the door opened. I stood stunned and speechless as I beheld the last person I'd expect to be here, my math teacher.

"M-Mr. the Wise?! What are _you _doing here?" I asked out of impulse.

"Erm, I believe that question would be more appropriate for me to ask, given that you are standing at my doorstep."

What?! I think my brain just exploded! Mr. the Wise, my freaking high school math teacher, lives in a giant-ass mansion?! Is he, like, a drug dealer on the side or something?!

"Ah, you are one of my students, are you not? Roxas Destati, I believe," he chuckled after realizing who I was. "It must come as a surprise to see your mathematics teacher living in a mansion."

"I-I'll say," I responded shakily.

He laughed, but I was still stupefied at the fact that he was standing at the doorway to a mansion that he claimed was his. "I am only a part-time teacher, Roxas. In fact, your class is the only one that I teach. I am actually an experienced heart surgeon. The workings of the heart have always fascinated me, but teaching youth has always been one of my favourite pastimes."

"Wow, that's… that's impressive, sir."

"Heh, you humble me, Roxas. Now, if I may be so bold, why exactly are you here?"

I had nearly forgotten the reason I'd showed up; anyone would if they saw that their math teacher was living in a mansion and actually turned out to be a successful heart surgeon who teaches for fun… Not exactly your typical experience.

"Oh, um, I'm actually here to pick up my friend Naminé, but I think I may be at the wrong… mansion."

He quickly adopted an amused expression. "Ah, no, my boy, you are indeed at the right place. I was wondering where it was that my daughter was going tonight. I must say that I am surprised to see a boy coming to get her though."

He chuckled as I fell into a coughing fit. Holy crap, did he just tell me that Naminé was his daughter?! Would that make her Naminé the Wise?! I suppose I could've found out her last name some other way, but, man, this is just way too many surprises for one night. Gah, any drama that happens at The Lounge won't even compare to everything that's happened right on this one doorstep!

"Naminé! Roxas is here," he called out behind him before turning back towards me and grinning. "Listen, Roxas, I trust you; you've proven to be a good student in class, and are exceptionally bright. However, school life aside, I will not tolerate any funny business with Naminé. Is that clear?"

"U-understood, sir! W-we're just f-friends, so I-I wouldn't dream of t-trying anything!"

"Good," he said, still grinning.

Naminé appeared behind him a few moments later, smiling shyly at me as her father, Mr. the Wise, my high school math teacher, the successful brain surgeon millionaire, stepped aside for her. She looked very pretty in her simple white blouse and short jean shorts. She quickly said goodbye to him and we left the doorstep, though I was still shaking quite a bit.

"Roxas? What's the matter?" she said, noticing my pale face and awkward, jelly-limbed walk.

"Oh, I dunno, maybe just the fact that I rang the doorbell to a mansion only to have my math teacher answer the door, tell me he's a brain surgeon, and then tell me that his daughter is the girl I'm picking up!"

"Heehee, I probably should've said something about that earlier," she giggled. Gee, Naminé, you think?!

"Ugh, finally," Ven complained when we got to the car. "You guys were up there for, like, seven whole minutes!"

"Relax, Ven, that's nothing considering what I just went through! Anyway, Naminé, this is my brother Ven. Ven, Naminé."

"Hello, hello," he said in his flirty tone. Dammit, Ven, can you not? Besides, you're gunning for Aqua anyway.

"Hi," she said timidly, taking a seat in the back while I climbed back into the driver's seat.

"So you've been hanging out with this dork, eh?" he said to her. "Too bad. You could've had the chance to meet the better-looking twin."

"Oh?" she said playfully. "Who's this better-looking one? Roxas is pretty cute, but I thought you were supposed to be his twin."

I must've bust a gut from laughing so hard. I was not expecting that from Naminé at all, but it was quite the comeback! Ven chuckled and muttered something about her having no taste. Even Naminé was giggling a bit, though I could see her blushing a bit in the rearview.

"So where are we going anyway?" she asked once we'd all finished laughing.

"What, Roxas didn't tell you? Such a gentleman, bro," Ven said, smacking me on the shoulder. "We're all going to The Lounge!"

"Th-The Lounge?" she stuttered. Ven, you idiot, couldn't you have waited until we got there?!

"Yeah, they're throwing a back-to-school party tonight, so it'll be cool!"

The rest of the car ride was pretty much silent. I could see Naminé looking a little uncomfortable in the back and Ven seemed rather oblivious to it. He looked more like he was thinking about dancing with Aqua or something like that, judging from the head-bobbing and weird smirk on his face.

We pulled into the lot and Ven was quick with a "meet you inside" before heading off. I guess the others must've already been here, so he wanted to go find them. I turned back to face Naminé. I felt bad for tricking her, but I felt even worse since I didn't know that there was going to be a huge party here. She's probably pretty upset with me right now.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry about this," I said as sincerely as I could. "I didn't know there was gonna be some party thing tonight, but I still should've told you we were coming here. We don't have to go in if you don't want. I'll just make something up to tell Ven."

She looked up at me, giving me a weak smile that still made my heart melt. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would; you're my best friend, Naminé."

Her cheeks flushed slightly and she placed her hand on mine, which was resting on the compartment between seats. "If you'd be willing to do that for me, then I'm willing to do this for you, Roxas. I can't let you be the only one doing things for your best friend."

I smiled widely as she undid her seatbelt and stepped out of the car. I followed right after and locked the car so that we could head towards the entrance to the building together.

"Don't worry," I reassured her, "I promised to stay beside you, and I don't plan on breaking it. We'll be fine, alright?"

"As long as you stay beside me, I know I'll be okay."

It was odd, but I felt almost proud of her, like she'd done something that made me happy. Well, I was happy that she was coming to hang out with me, but it was something more than that. Seeing her conquer her fear as we walked through the doors just sparked something within me. I dunno what it was, but she definitely made me feel… different right then.

"Roxas?" she whimpered as we entered the semi-crowded building.

"Are you alright?" I asked, assuming that she was getting uncomfortable.

"Can I… maybe hold your arm or something?" she asked. Though the lights were strobing on the dancefloor, I could tell that she was blushing.

Giving her a warm smile, I held out my arm so she could take it. "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

Sorry if that ended a bit abruptly, but I wanted to save the clubbing thing for next chapter. I have more of an idea of what's gonna go down for that one, so it won't be quite as short as this one was. Honestly, I pretty much made this chapter up as I was writing it because I had no idea what direction I wanted this to take. I have a basic idea of certain events in the story, but there has to be little things that lead up to those, and I was stupid enough not to actually plot any of those little things out beforehand…

Anyway, I don't think this chapter turned out horribly, but it certainly isn't my best work. Let me know what you guys thought in your reviews and check out my soundcloud (link on my profile)! I really do appreciate when people send me reviews, especially lengthy ones because then I get the chance to respond with something other than "Thanks for reviewing!", so don't be afraid to leave me some thoughts!

Thanks for reading!

_-GengaJupite_


	6. A ridiculous amount of T sounds

Dammit, I keep getting behind schedule with this story… I think I'm gonna change my update rate for this to one to two weeks because I've been getting pretty caught up with schoolwork and stuff lately. I'll try not to leave it for two weeks, but I can't promise anything.

Thanks to **X-blade025, roxasduelwielder, **and the one anonymous person for reviewing!

Also, sorry if you guys don't know the breaking terms (as in breakdance) because I'll be using a few for a certain section in this chapter. I'm pretty big on hip hop so I typically like using hip hop terms in my everyday life.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_A ridiculous amount of T sounds_

Naminé lightly grasped onto my arm as we headed farther into the loud, partying building. I tried as well as I could to keep us out of the crowds for now, but honestly it's not that easy when there's a whole bunch of people writhing around trying to dance. I could feel her grip tighten slightly when we had to push our way through tighter groupings of people. Man, where are Ven and the others?!

"Roxas, over here!" someone yelled from up ahead. I looked to see Sora's spiky hair bouncing around as he tried to wave me over. "We're just chilling in this room right now; follow me!"

Flashing Naminé a quick smile, I led us after my cousin. Whew, it's good to be in a less dense section and I'm sure Naminé's relieved. I mean if I'm glad to be out of those crowds, she must be ecstatic!

"Roxas!" greeted a bunch of people when we got into the comfy sitting room. Everyone was lazing about on couches or beanbag chairs while the TV was on some random game show.

"Hey, guys!" I greeted back. It took me a second to realize that they were all sitting in anticipation, shooting glances in my direction. "Oh, right. Guys this is Naminé. Naminé, these are my friends. You already know Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Ven."

She waved shyly as each of the others introduced themselves. To be honest, I've never officially met Paine before tonight but she seems kind of… scary, so I don't really mind. I couldn't help noticing Selphie looking Naminé up and down a few times before introducing herself. Heh, I guess she's eyeing up her competition or something. Everyone else acted pretty much the way you might expect regular people to introduce themselves though.

"So, Ven," Sora changed the tone, "you and Roxas ready to throw down tonight? Riku and I have some new moves that'll annihilate you!"

Ven and I exchanged a glance before turning back to Sora and smirking devilishly. "Psh, keep dreaming, clumsy!" laughed Ven. "You guys have never beaten us before!"

"Not this again…" Tidus facepalmed and shook his head.

"Um, what are you guys talking about?" Naminé asked me timidly.

"Oh, only the fact that Sora and Riku can't handle the fact that Ven and I are, and always will be, better dancers than them! We've proven it multiple times in the past!" I chuckled, giving my brother a high-five.

"I didn't know you dance," she giggled slightly.

"I guess it never really came up," I shrugged. "But, yeah, twin power always prevails! B-boy Wind and B-boy Roku have never lost a battle to Sky and Land before!"

"Sky and Land?"

"Oh, those are Sora and Riku's b-boy names. Wind is Ven, Roku is me."

"Pfft, you guys make it sound like it's a huge deal that you've won every battle," Riku countered, "but maybe you forgot that we've only battled twice!"

"Maybe so, but it doesn't make you any better!" laughed Ven.

"Okay, well," Terra interrupted, "I'll start taking bets if you guys are actually gonna do it. I'll put ten munny in the pot for Ven and Roxas!"

"Go ten for me too!" giggled Aqua.

"Five for Sora and Riku," said Kairi.

"What, only five, Kairi?!" Sora gasped. "Don't you think we can win?"

"Heehee, if I'm being honest, then no, but I should be supporting you anyway, right?"

"Fifteen on Sora and Riku, ya?" said Wakka, evening up the numbers.

By the end of it, Ven and I had seventy munny riding on us while Sora and Riku only had forty. Heh, I guess our friends know who the superior dancers are around here! I wish I got some of this munny, but it's only for the betters, and since I'm competing I can't bet.

"You gonna bet, Naminé?" Terra asked, holding the pouch that held everyone's munny.

"Oh, um," she said, blushing slightly, "I don't… I've never seen any of them… do this before. Maybe I shouldn't…"

"Heh, it's okay, I know you would've bet on us," Sora grinned, giving her a thumbs-up.

"As if!" Ven countered. "In case you didn't notice, she definitely would've betted on Roxas!"

A few snickers went around as Naminé and I blushed. Stupid Ven, why do you have to be so oblivious to how blunt you are? If we weren't gonna be tearing up the dance floor later, I'd clobber your head in! You get off easy this time, pal, but don't expect it to happen again… Ohohoho yes, you'll get your just desserts…

"Maybe… I'll drop five in for Roxas and Ven…" she said so quietly that I think I'm the only one who caught it.

"You will?" I asked.

"Mhm, yeah, um, Terra? I'll put five munny in for Roxas and Ven."

"Alright, stakes are high tonight, boys!" Terra boomed as the clink of Naminé's munny fell into the bag. "You better win, Ven!"

"Don't worry, Terra, we've got this," Ven responded confidently. "Roxas, you still remember that commando we used to beat those guys at the Twilight Town competition?"

"Damn, you think we'll even need to use it against these two?" I asked; it's always fun to trash-talk your opponents if you know you can win. "I mean those guys were tough!"

"Well, we gotta show them why we're the best, right?" Ven added, smirking at Riku.

"You guys are so full of it," Sora chuckled. "We've been getting better too you know!"

"Let's say nine thirty," added Riku. "That way you can have some time to prepare for losing!"

Ending on that note, Sora and Riku left the sitting room; probably to go get ready because they suck! I glanced at the clock to check the time: seven o'clock. Psh, that's plenty of time, I'll just chill out for now.

"So, any other secret talents you haven't told me about?" Naminé asked me as everyone else went back to their own conversations.

"Heh, well, if you must know," I chuckled playfully, "I'm also a half decent singer, experienced snowboarder, sexy deep-sea diver, extraordinary lover, the best kisser, the list goes on."

"Heehee, you forgot one though," she giggled.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"You're also the biggest dork ever!"

We both laughed away. It's funny how before tonight I'd never known Naminé to have this side to her. First she made a perfect comeback to Ven and then she seemed pretty comfortable with ending my list of accomplishments. Okay, okay, I may have exaggerated on a few of those… I'm actually not an experienced snowboarder or a deap-sea diver. I'm still sexy though.

"That's not very nice," I said once I'd finished laughing. "I guess that you're actually a snake hidden behind this cute little exterior."

She blushed and giggled, but didn't say anything.

"Ooh, they're so cute together!" I heard Rikku say from where she was sitting.

With my peripherals, I could see her, Yuna, Paine, Kairi, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka huddled together while quite obviously staring at us. As much as I would have liked to freak them out by shooting them a glance, I had the weird idea to listen to what they would say. I mean, Naminé and I are just friends, but it would be kind of funny to hear what other people would think of us as a couple.

"Nam," I whispered into her ear, "pretend we're still talking and stuff. I wanna hear what those guys are saying about us. Don't look over!"

Her cheeks flushed pink at the idea that people were talking about us, but she complied and we went into some conversation that neither of us was really paying much attention to. She was probably just as curious to hear what the others were saying too.

"I dunno, Rikku, I think that they'd be better as friends," said Selphie.

"Oh, be quiet, Selphie," Paine said flatly, "you're only saying that because you'd rather switch places with her right now."

"And she's not alone," giggled Yuna.

"Yuna!" whined Tidus.

"Yes, Tidus?"

"Ehehe… nevermind…" Hadn't he done that exact same thing on the first day of school? I should give him an award for being most discreet about his crush…

"Tidus, brudda, you think she's kinda cute though, ya?"

"Yeah, I won't lie about that."

"You're a hypocrite, Tidus!" said Kairi, smacking him on the head.

"Ow! Hey, I said she was cute; I didn't say I wanted to date her!"

"Why would that make him a hypocrite?" Yuna asked. Okay, so I guess she hasn't picked up on his cues… Not exactly sure how, but whatever.

"Obviously," started Paine, "it's because he-"

"BLARGLEFLABLAHBLAHAAH!" he shouted, cutting off Paine so that she couldn't finish that statement. Nam and I had to force ourselves not to laugh at his antics.

"…Okay then…" Yuna said after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Hey, Naminé," I muttered to her.

"Yeah?"

"Can I do something? I wanna see how they'll react."

"Um, what are you planning?"

"Trust me, it won't hurt or anything, I just wanna test this out."

"…O-okay."

Making sure that they were all watching again, I moved closer to Naminé. In truth, I did actually want to see how they'd react, but the whole thing would be a bit more realistic if she didn't expect what was coming either. Just have to make it clear that this is a totally platonic gesture though. I leaned in towards her, looking into her pretty blue eyes.

And I kissed her lightly on the cheek.

I grinned when I heard the gasps and squeals from the other couch. Naminé, understandably, turned _very_ red the instant it happened. I'm surprised she didn't turn red when I simply got closer to her face. I couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Ven, Terra, and Aqua, who had earlier been engrossed in their own conversation, looked over to the gasping eavesdroppers. Well, they weren't exactly gasping anymore as much as they were all gossiping like crazy.

"Oh my god, did you see that?!"

"He really just kissed her!"

"No, Roxas, kiss meeee!"

"Shut up, Selphie, they're adorable!"

"He's got balls, ya?"

"…I've seen better…"

"Heehee, I hope I can be next in line."

"Yuna!"

"Yes, Tidus?"

"…Ehehe… nevermind…"

"You're hopeless, Tidus…"

"I love you too, Paine…"

Seeing that there wouldn't be any harm in looking over at them now, I turned my attention from Naminé's dizzyingly red face to the group of hysteric onlookers. They were too busy discussing amongst themselves to even notice that I'd turned my attention to them. I guess since it caused that much commotion I should find a time to apologize to Nam for being so forward.

"Hey!" I called to them, figuring they'd discussed enough. "Whatcha guys talking about?"

"Oh, uh…" some of them stuttered.

"Nothing important…" said Kairi. "I'm gonna go see what Sora and Riku are up to!"

"W-wait for me!" said the others as they scrambled to follow after her.

"…Well, that was weird…" Terra deadpanned.

"Yeah… I'm kinda curious what it was about though," said Aqua. "Any of you guys wanna come with me?"

"Yup!" said Ven and Terra, both jumping to their feet. "I'll catch you later, Roxas! Nine-thirty; remember!" Ven called as they all trailed out the door, leaving only Naminé and I.

"Hey, uh…" I started, scratching the back of my neck as I noticed her still staring right at me, "sorry about that. I thought it might seem more realistic if you didn't know what was gonna happen. It was pretty forward of me though, and I know how you are about embarrassment and stuff…"

She didn't say anything for a few moments, and I was afraid that I'd broken her or something. I'm not really the kind of guy who does those things either, so I'm not sure what compelled me to want to kiss her on the cheek. It's not like I ever did that with any of my friends back at Twilight Academy. Still, it seemed like a good idea at the time…

"…Um, don't worry about it…" she said after what seemed like an eternity. "But… I think next time you decide to… do something like that… maybe you could let me know beforehand?"

Whew, at least she isn't angry with me. "Heh, I won't. I doubt it'll happen again, so you won't have to be prepared for any more spur-of-the-moment kisses."

"Kisses? Sounds like a party in here!" came a familiar voice from the doorway. We both looked up to see two familiar faces peeking in.

"Axel! Xion!" I greeted, smiling towards them.

The two Organization members casually strolled in and plopped themselves down on the couch beside ours. While I was enjoying the brief moment of alone time with Naminé, I wasn't upset to see my other friends.

"So what's this I hear about kisses?" Axel asked through a fiendish smirk.

"Oh, some of our friends were talking about us, thinking that we couldn't hear them, so I kissed Naminé on the cheek to see how they'd react."

Upon recalling the memory, both of us blushed slightly. Axel laughed harder than I was expecting him to, but Xion didn't look nearly as amused at him. That's not to say that she wasn't smiling, but it didn't really look like she had reacted at all to the story. Meh, maybe I'm reading into it too much.

"Where's everyone else?" Xion asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, I think they all just went out to the dance floor," I said, shrugging. "Oh, by the way, Ven and I are gonna battle Sora and Riku later if you guys wanted to check it out."

"Like a dance battle?" Xion asked.

"Yeah, I keep forgetting that people don't know I'm a b-boy."

"That's badass, man!" shouted Axel. "If you want, I can lay you down some sick beats! Demyx and I know the DJ, and we're pretty good at scratching for old school hip hop stuff."

"Sweet, that'd be awesome!" I said, giving him a fist-bump.

"Xion?" said Naminé; I jumped a bit, as I'd forgotten she was there since she'd been so quiet. "Um, Larxene isn't here, is she?"

Xion and Axel looked at each other before turning back to her. "Yeah, but she probably won't talk to you if she sees you," Xion answered reassuringly.

"But I don't usually come to these places. She might think I'm invading her territory or something…"

"Oh, don't say that," said Axel, "she's not gonna kick you out because you're in a public place. She might say something like 'why the hell are you here?', but I think that'll be as much interaction as she'll be willing to have with you."

I know it's mostly to do with the fact that Larxene and Naminé don't get along, but the way they talk about all of this almost makes it sound like there's something wrong with Nam. I could feel myself getting tense just thinking of how it sounded like they were insulting her. If she hadn't told me that her and Larxene don't get along well, I probably would've jumped to her defense just then. I'm not the kind of person who let's my best friend take insults.

"As long as she doesn't do anything irrational, I think I'll be okay," Naminé said quietly, casting her gaze downward.

We sat in a semi-awkward silence before Axel spoke up again. "Hey, let's all go get a drink! This rooms getting kinda stuffy anyway."

"You okay to go back out there, Nam?" I asked her.

"Y-yeah, just… stay close to me."

"Awww, that's cute," Axel jeered.

With that, the four of us got up from our seats and headed into the crowded dancing area.

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

For the most part, we just sat at the bar, sipping our drinks and talking about anything that came to mind. Luxord and Demyx came over to talk to us at some point, but other than that it was just us four. It might just have been the way the speakers were angled, but the bar area was much quieter than the dancefloor right behind us. The bass beat was so heavy that I could actually feel it pulse through my body.

"So, Naminé," said Axel, playing with a toothpick between his teeth, "how'd Roxas convince you to come out? I was actually pretty surprised to see you out here!"

"Yeah, I didn't think you were the party type," added Xion.

"Oh, um, well, he sort of…" she stuttered.

"Heh, I kinda tricked her," I stated nonchalantly; no point in hiding the truth, though I'm glad she was wondering if she should tell them. "I didn't explicitly tell her where we were going tonight, only that I was gonna chill with some friends."

"Yeah, b-but you also stuck up for me!" she said, turning towards me. "You offered to ditch your plans to go somewhere else with me, so I decided that I should be a good friend and come with you instead!"

"Aww, already having arguments about who's more selfless. And you aren't even dating yet," Axel chuckled; earning some blushed faces from both of us.

"Hey, what time is it?" Xion asked, changing the subject yet again. She's been doing it quite a bit tonight but it only ever seems to be when we're talking about Nam and I. Still, I'm probably just reading into it too much.

"It is," Axel said, checking his watch, "nine twenty-two. Oh crap! Roxas, you should probably go find Ven!"

"Yikes, you're right! C'mon, Naminé!" I said, grabbing her hand and jumping out of my seat.

I pushed us through the crowds of writhing, gyrating, fist-pumping teenagers, searching for Ven or any of the others even. Having no luck, I tried my best to get us back to the room. I had to make sure I held onto Naminé tightly because of how many people were around us. She's probably blushing and doing her whole embarrassed thing, but I'd rather that than have her get lost in the crowd of sweaty people.

"Finally, there you are!" Ven huffed as we tumbled into the room. "I was freaking out here, man!"

"Sorry, sorry, we lost track of time and I just had to pull us through the middle of that mosh pit!" I panted in response.

"Heh, well, at least you're all warmed up then," he chuckled before pacing towards us. "Did you let the DJ know we're gonna need a circle?"

"Oh, I did us one better than that," I responded.

As if on cue, the music quieted down and a familiar voice came over the speakers. We all stepped out into the dancing area to see Axel and Demyx behind the DJ booth, Axel holding a mic to his mouth.

"Yo, yo, yo, what is up Destiny Islaaaaaands?!" he hyped up the audience, receiving some cheering in response. "My name's DJ Fire and this here is my boy, DJ Nocturne!" he said, gesturing to Demyx and earning some more cheers.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm liking this crowd! Tonight we've got a special event going on for the back-to-school party this year! We're gonna need all you guys to clear out a space in the middle because this dancefloor's turning into a battlezone! That's right, everybody, it's a breaking battle!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as they cleared out some space in the centre. Giving Naminé a smile, I left her with Kairi, Aqua, and Terra before heading into the middle section with Ven.

"Alright, alright! From our very own Destiny High, two of the most popular guys I know, and certainly a couple of cool characters; give it up for Land and Skyyyyy!"

A bunch of cheers erupted as Riku and Sora stepped into the circle, waving their arms to hype up the crowd. Tch, you guys are gonna need all the hype you can get to beat us!

"And we've got their challengers! Also coming right from Destiny High, the terrible twin twosome that took the Twilight Town tournament by storm!" Holy crap, that was a ridiculous amount of T sounds. "Put your hands together for Wind and Rokuuuuu!"

Oh man, that certainly gets the adrenaline going. Ven and I jumped out into the circle and hyped up the crowd even more so than Sora and Riku were able to. Yeah, even the crowd knows who the realest guys out here are. The four of us smirked at our opponents and shook hands.

"Okay, now that that's settled… let the battle begin!"

Everyone in the crowd 'ooh'ed and cheered as Demyx spun the first track, _Juice_ by Eric B. and Rakim. Without missing a second, Sora did his little taunting walk around the circle to hype up the crowd some more. Given that this is a pretty universally known breaking song, he easily hit the first few beats with his toprock. I must admit, Sora's floorwork has gotten better since I battled him last year. A couple six steps here, a few sweeps there, and- whoa, right into the swipes! Well, when they said they'd gotten better, they really weren't kidding. Even my swipes aren't that clean, though I don't concentrate on those as much. The crowd was going wild, but I've learned from experience that they always do when a b-boy is doing power moves. Sora finished up on a nike freeze and wiped the floor. Oh, he is asking for it.

Ven was quick to follow up, and he didn't even do any tops; he just jumped straight into an elbow stand. Honestly, that's probably one of his best counter entrances, so everyone screamed for him. From there he went right up into his one-handed hand hops and mixed it up a little by dropping to an elbow or switching hands every few hops. Man, even Ven got better than I expected! I'm pretty sure I did too, but I didn't realize how much they probably trained while I'd been away in Twilight Town! I watched as he jumped down onto his feet and started a few uprocks. We all know our strong points, and Ven is particularly good at taunting. Learning cool moves and stuff means nothing unless you can properly taunt your opponent in a battle. Once he'd taunted them enough he started doing a prep top and- oh shiiiiiiiit, now way, Ven! He must've learned those while I was away because I didn't think he was ever gonna get down some clean 2Ks! So sick!

The crowd went wild as Ven spun around on his hands. After about ten spins he jumped out and bounced backwards towards me, leaving the floor open for Riku. Riku's specialty is his freezes. He's got some pretty cool power moves, but one thing that no amateur b-boy or b-girl has ever beaten him at are his freezes. He went in and started doing some pretty clean tops, though I have seen him do better. He was quick to drop to the floor and get into his freeze combos. Some basic footwork into a baby, up into a headstand, headhollow… What?! He just rose up into a hollowback?! And, boom, right on beat jumps into an airbaby! Whoa… what is going on… floating airbaby, twisting into a floating airchair… Okay, it's a little anticlimactic, but hopping floating airchairs must be killing his freaking arm! Wait… okay, I knew it was too anticlimactic because he just hopped into a reverse airbaby and now the crowd's going wild again.

Okay, Roxas, you got this, don't hold back!

"Last set, last set!" announced Axel.

I quickly nodded to Ven and jumped in with my tops. A nice steady rockstep was enough to get the crowd clapping to the beat. Okay, time to show them what I'm made of! Getting into a prep top, I put my hand on the ground and started up with some flares. If there's one way to get a crowd hyped, it's to alternate back and forth between flares and some sort of mills. The other way would be to do some headspins, but none of us can do those yet, so we're going with the next best thing. I ended with a spinning sidechair, and that's when Ven slid in beside me, making the crowd go absolutely nuts! Aw yeah, Sora, Riku, you guys can't handle this commando! We went into our switches and UFOs before getting ready for the grand finale. Linking arms, we both jumped into some flag stands, getting our legs into lotuses just to taunt them more.

As we jumped out of our final move, all you could hear was the cheering of everyone else and Axel continuously screaming "oh my god" into the mic. Aw yeah, people started getting into the rhythm of chanting "Wind, Roku, Wind, Roku" which made it pretty clear who won that battle. Yeeeeaaah, undefeated! Suck on that, Sora and Riku!

"Holy mother of Zeus, that was a crazy battle!" Axel screamed through the mic. "I think we've got our winners: Wind and Rokuuuuu!"

The crowd cheered again, and we were engulfed in a mob of congratulatory teens that I'm sure I had never met before. I suppose it doesn't really matter if you know the people who praise you, as long as you're getting praise for the right reasons. Even better, Terra won't be pissed at Ven for losing! At the moment, all I can say is that life is good.

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Once everything settled back down to its regular pace, Ven, Sora, Riku, and I made our way back to the room in hopes that that was where we were gonna find everyone else. Sure enough, we got back and everyone who bet their munny on us instantly wrapped Ven and I in a tight squeeze. Well, everyone but Naminé, but I wasn't expecting her to give us a big hug.

"Way to go, guys!" laughed Aqua.

"I knew you could do it!" said Rikku.

"Roxas, how about a victory date?" asked Selphie.

"Lay off him, Selph, that's what Naminé's here for," Terra guffawed.

Selphie grumbled something and I laughed as I noticed Naminé giggling over Terra's comment. Usually she'd get embarrassed over something like that so it was nice to see her loosening up a bit. Maybe I _should_ take her out on a victory date; just as friends of course.

"Okay, Terra, time to split the winnings!" Yuna said as they released us from the hug.

He went around to everyone who bet on us and handed them an equal amount of munny.

"Huh, why does Kairi get munny?" Sora and Riku both asked in surprise.

"Oh, heehee," Kairi chuckled sheepishly. "After I bet on you guys, I gave Terra ten more to bet on Ven and Roxas. I wasn't just gonna throw away five munny to stick up for you guys!"

"Gee, thanks," they grumbled, earning some chuckles all around.

I went up to Naminé as quickly as I could. Even though I'd pretty much spent all night with her, there was something telling me that I hadn't given her enough of my attention tonight. It was probably because she hadn't been talking much, so now was a good a time as ever to spend some time with her.

"Hey, Nam?"

"Hi, Roxas. Good job! I, uh, didn't realize how good you were."

Heh, well, that's probably because she's never seen me dance before, seeing as she only found out that I could earlier tonight.

"Thanks. To be honest, it's been a little while since I'd done something like that. Anyway, wanna come with me somewhere? Don't worry, I won't try and kiss you again or anything."

She giggled a bit and nodded. Smiling back, I took her by the wrist and led her out to the front of the building. The stars were just starting to come out, and the sky still had a pink-ish tinge to it. I led her around to the side of the building where a metal staircase was blocked off by a single chain link.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking around to see if anyone would catch us climbing over the chain.

"You'll see," I responded, trying to hide my eagerness, "this place is really cool, trust me!"

We carefully climbed up the steep metal stairs, eventually making our way up the side of the building. When we got to the top, I heard her gasp as I helped her step down onto the roof.

"Roxas, why is there a terrace up here?"

I just shrugged and led her over to where a few deck chairs were lined up beside a garden. I hadn't been here since last summer, but I was glad that it was just the same as I remembered. A few tables with umbrellas on them sat off to one side, away from the grass and flowerbeds. A very shallow pool (it's more for decoration than serving any sort of function) sat right in the middle of the greenery. Though the building isn't very tall, the view from the roof was still pretty, overlooking all the twinkling lights of the houses and other buildings in the distance. A door on the corner of the roof led to the actual entrance to get up here, as we had taken the fire exit; I assumed the regular entrance would've been locked up. The only out of place thing in this peaceful place was the thumping bass of the music inside, but it didn't really distract from the overall mood.

"So, why'd you wanna bring me up here?"

"Heh, does there have to be a specific reason?" I answered with a question.

"Well, no, I suppose not, but it seemed like you wanted to bring me here for something."

"If I'm being honest here, I thought you might wanna get away from all the people for a bit. I also wanted to spend a bit more time with you."

"Heehee, getting a little clingy, aren't you? We've been spending the whole night together! Well, except for when you were dancing."

"Well, I just felt like… how should I put this… it just seemed like when we were together earlier that we were just sort of in the same place as each other. I spent most of my time talking to Axel and Xion with only the odd comment or question for you. It made me feel a little guilty, so I thought that it would be best if I set aside some time for you."

"Oh, Roxas, you didn't have to do that…"

"Why not? I like spending time with you, Nam."

She smiled and dropped her gaze away from me a little bit. We lay back in the deck chairs, not saying anything for the next little while. It was more of a peaceful silence than an awkward one, so I felt comfortable just lying there like that. It wasn't until the sound of something clacking against the ground caught my attention that I looked over at her.

"Are you cold?" I asked, noticing her shaking slightly.

"Um, j-just a little bit," she said, though her voice sounded like she was more than a little cold.

"Shoot, uh, I don't have a blanket or jacket or anything on me… Maybe… no, I don't wanna be too forward again."

"Wait, what were you going to say?"

"Well, it just sort of popped into my head, so don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I thought that maybe you'd be warmer if I laid next to you… in your chair… y'know, to conserve body heat…"

She didn't say anything at first and it was too dark to see if she was blushing. I'm guessing that she probably was though. At least it might help bring some warmth to her face? No, I don't think it really works that way. I dunno what else I could suggest though. I'm not gonna tell her to start doing jumping jacks or something to warm up…

"Um…" she said after a minute or two after hearing my suggestion, "I think… I'd be okay with it since it's you."

Huh, I wasn't expecting her to actually consider it! "Are you sure, Naminé? I don't wanna make you feel uncomfortable."

"Honestly, Roxas, I think I'll be okay. I mean you've held my hand various times tonight and lying down next to you shouldn't be all that different from sitting next to you. If I do get uncomfortable, I'll just tell you so that you can move back to your chair."

"I, uh, I guess that makes sense… You're sure then?"

"Am I not worthy of you, Roxas?" she teased.

I chuckled a bit and sat up. I guess if I'm making a bigger deal out of it than she is then it really can't be much of a big deal. And besides, she did say that if she felt uncomfortable she'd just ask me to go back to my own chair; there's nothing wrong with that. She scooted over a bit so that I could lie down beside her. It was a tight fit, given that deck chairs are really only supposed to fit on person, but I figured that it would help her to keep warm if I were pressed right up against her side. Wow, her arms _are_ cold!

"So," I said once I'd squirmed into a more comfortable position, "how'd you feel about tonight? I was skeptical that you might not have a good time."

"Mm, it was enjoyable," she answered flatly. "Your friends are nice enough, and I didn't actually get into any overly uncomfortable positions. I'm especially glad that I didn't have to run into Larxene."

"Heh, yeah, I'll admit I was a bit worried when they said she was here. I know you don't get along with her so I didn't know what she might do if she saw us. Truth be told, I don't think she really likes me either…"

"She's kinda like that for everyone. I think the only people she actually does get along with are Marluxia and Axel, though Axel is only to a certain extent."

"It's weird how Axel and Xion are so different from the rest of them, eh?"

"Yeah, maybe that's why I get along with them. I don't really like the other Organization members too much."

"Seems like that's the answer most people give me," I sighed.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize; it isn't your fault. Ven's kinda letting me do my own thing now, so it's fine. It's not like I know where to find the Organization at school anyway. The only time I see them is when I have classes with them or when Xion or Axel run into me randomly."

She looked at me briefly and turned back to the sky. "The stars are bright out tonight. It's pretty."

"That was… random, but yeah, I think so too."

She giggled a bit to my response. I noticed then that she didn't feel nearly as cold as she did when I first lay down beside her. Maybe conserving our heat this way works better than I thought.

"Do you think we'll stay friends forever, Roxas?"

"My, you certainly like to change topics, don't you?" I joked. "But, in all seriousness, I can't say for sure, though I know that I'd like to. It's funny; I don't think I've ever grown such a close relationship with anyone so quickly like the two of us did. It's like we were made to become friends. I remember that my first goal when seeing you for the first time was simply to introduce myself, but I had no idea that we would just… click."

"…I didn't think I was interesting enough to warrant your attention that day… What made you want to meet me?"

I smirked a bit as I recalled the memory. "Heh, you're just gonna think I'm shallow, but my first thought was 'wow, this girl is amazingly pretty; I have to get to know her!' I'll admit that I'm somewhat superficial, but aren't we all? I mean most people start dating because there's an initial physical attraction… Oh, uh, not that we're dating or anything…"

She giggled again and turned to me. "At least you're being honest with me. You're right though; if you hadn't been cute, I probably wouldn't have gotten up with you from the couch that day."

"I guess you aren't as shy as you make yourself appear to be," I chuckled lightly.

"Hmm, no, I was just feeling bold enough to meet a cute guy that day," she responded.

Before I could say anything else, a commotion from the front of the building caught both of our attentions. Sharing a glance, we quickly got up and hurried to the edge of the roof where we would be able to look down at the scene.

Well, I guess I was wrong about the whole 'fighting every time they see each other is stupid' thing, because Naminé and I looked down to see Ven and Riku picking themselves up off the ground as Xigbar and Luxord stepped towards them…

* * *

It might've seemed rambly in the middle sections, so I apologize for the lack of direction this chapter had. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with it, but there were a few ideas I had in mind (people discussing Roxas and Naminé in front of them, hints toward Xion, the terrace, the last little ending bit); other than those, everything else was made up on the spot, like the dance battle.

Anyway, since I've set out a slightly longer time limit for myself, I'm gonna try to work chapter directions out a bit more so that I don't come off as rambly in my writing. I'm also sorry for any amount of mistakes that were in this chapter. I didn't really have time to edit it properly, so I just kind of skimmed the text for errors. I usually notice them after a chapter is posted, so I'll try to get them fixed if I can pick them out.

Please review and check out my soundcloud!

_-GengaJupite_


	7. There isn't much to do

I forgot that I set my update a bit longer for this fic and started freaking out when it was Thursday… No matter, I actually know a little more about what I want for this chapter, though I wish I had thought this story through before starting on it. But, hey, if it seems as though this story is flowing and making sense to you then you can disregard all of that and pretend I actually know what I'm doing :P

On an unrelated note, I'm going to Distant Worlds in a few weeks! Gah, so excited! Maybe if I'm lucky I'll be sitting near Nobuo Uematsu, since apparently he likes to sit in the crowd at almost all of his shows. I am in row 9, so fingers crossed! Now if only Yoko Shimomura started doing concerts…

Thanks to my reviewers!

**tsukuneXmoka: **Your kind words humble me :). I'm hoping that people will start reviewing more, but I hate doing those '# reviews for next chapter'. It'd be great if people gave me feedback because someone actually unfavourited the story over the past week, but I don't really know what I'm doing wrong since hardly anyone reviews :/

**X-blade025: **I'm glad you enjoyed the dance battle! I didn't want to go into too much detail with it because I doubt there are a lot of people who actually understood anything I said during that section :P. I'm still figuring out all the details for Organization XIII, but the things I have planned will hopefully add quite a bit more drama to the story!

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_There isn't much to do besides each other_

I honestly had no idea what to do at that point. Seeing my brother and Riku potentially about to fight with Xigbar and Luxord wasn't the most comfortable situation I could've been in. I could always yell before they start, but shouting from the rooftop won't do much other than provide some background noise for them if they do start fighting. I looked to Naminé, but it seemed obvious enough that she wouldn't know what to do either.

"Heh, you think you guys can just come push us around on our own turf?" Xigbar sneered, slowly closing the distance between him and Ven; Luxord did the same with Riku.

"_Your_ turf?!" Ven shot back, jumping to his feet. "This is a public place, idiot!" I watched Riku hold Ven back from pouncing forward.

"That may be true," Luxord said, circling around so that he and Xigbar surrounded Ven and Riku, "but I can't recall the last time I was so poorly mistreated in a public place. I'm not exactly used to being shoved so rudely."

"We were just passing by and you happened to step in front of us," Riku said calmly. From what I could tell, he seemed to be the only one trying to avoid a conflict.

"Yeah, and all I did was ask for an apology," Xigbar said in a mocking tone. "You made me drop something… valuable…"

"Please, you didn't ask!" Their taunting tones were clearly riling Ven. "More like pushed me right back and spat in my face!"

"Oh, details, details," Luxord continued taunting. "But I seem to remember getting punched in the stomach, despite the fact that I hadn't actually done anything to you."

"You stepped in the way when I was going for Cyclops," Ven spat back.

Okay, so I could see how Ven was getting caught up in this mess, but where exactly did Riku fit in? He's a nice guy and all, but I doubt he'd be that guy who would just altruistically volunteer to defend Ven by getting literally kicked to the curb. Where was everyone else right now?

"Look, can we just drop this?" Riku protested. "You guys seem to be looking for a fight, but I'd rather not."

"Aww, what's the matter, Riku? Scared to get a little roughed up again?" laughed Xigbar. What did he mean 'again'? I guess there must be some scuffles in Riku's past.

"No. I'm not even sure why I'm out here; I was just with Ven when you guys decided to grab us both and throw us down."

"Pah, you're pathetic, Riku. Fine, I'll let this drop if Ven here gives us a proper apology and pays us back for what he made me drop."

I could sense the hostility getting stronger between them. Seriously, where is everyone else?! I wish I could do something, but it's too high to jump down and like I said before, yelling at them isn't going to do anything! It sucks to feel so helpless when you feel like you could do something!

"Pfft, I'm not apologizing for anything!" Yeah, that's what I was expecting him to say… "And what'd you drop, anyway, your balls? S'about time too!"

"Oh, a wiseguy, eh?" Luxord chuckled. He flicked his wrist and a few cards appeared in his hand. I shuddered at the memory of when I first met him; how he'd nearly taken out my eyes with those things.

"It's none of your concern," Xigbar said harshly. "But it was worth two hundred munny! You're lucky I'm being this merciful with you. Now pay up!"

"Two hundred munny?! You're crazy! How about I get that munny and shove it right up your ass?!"

Leave it to Ven to make a stupid comment when he's at the disadvantage. Apparently that was Xigbar's last straw as he growled and lunged at my brother. Luxord also leaped forward so that he could throw Riku out of the way from defending him. I froze on the spot as I watched Ven get pummeled by the one-eyed Organization member. Luxord wasn't fighting Riku, but he did have him pinned against the wall.

Before I even knew what was happening, I found myself sprinting towards the staircase. I still don't know where the others, or even security, were but I wasn't going to simply watch my brother get beaten to a pulp! To think that the whole reason for being out here sounded so stupid! Seriously, what the hell did Xigbar drop, and why would he be carrying around something so valuable in a crowded place like this? I guess when they already have issues with each other it doesn't take much to set them off.

I bounded down the stairs as quickly as I could and rushed around the corner of the building. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I got closer to them. I wasn't planning on fighting, but I was ready if it came to that. As long as Xigbar doesn't decide to hit me, there shouldn't be an issue. Since Xigbar was facing the other direction while he laid a beatdown on Ven, I was able to quickly pull him off with no resistance.

"Get off him!" I grunted as I threw Xigbar back. It wasn't meant to be an aggressive gesture, but I wanted to get him far enough from Ven.

"What the fu- Roxas?! Psh," spat Xigbar, "should've known you'd stick up for your bro. Pah, your brother's all talk, but I don't have a reason to fight with you. You got lucky this time, Ven! Don't think I'll forget about this, Roxas!" Hearing those words, Luxord tossed Riku aside like he was nothing and the two Organization members re-entered the building.

"You alright, Ven?" I asked once they'd left.

He'd definitely seen better days. Xigbar was pretty intent on getting his punches to land on Ven's face. His lip was swollen and had a couple cuts. Blood dripped from his nose and I could tell that he was going to have one hell of a shiner by tomorrow morning. Luckily it looked like nothing was broken, so he wouldn't have to deal with anything too serious.

"Thanks," he grumbled as I helped him to his feet. Riku quickly came over to check on Ven.

"You really saved us back there, Roxas," he said thankfully. "I know this is kind of random, and not that it really matters, but… where did you come from?"

Upon hearing his question, I realized I'd left Naminé alone on the roof. Half-expecting to see her still looking down at us, I looked up, but only briefly as I saw a figure rounding the corner of the building out of my peripherals.

"Oh, uh, we were on the terrace," I said offhandedly before going over to Naminé.

"Are they okay?" she asked timidly, almost as if she were afraid to hurt them with her voice.

"Yeah, Riku didn't actually get hurt, and it looks like Ven'll be fine other than a few bruises and a black eye."

"Thank goodness," she sighed in relief, allowing a slight smile to cross her lips.

"Nam, I… sorry about leaving you alone," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I probably should've given you some kind of sign that I was about to run off like that."

"I-it's okay, Roxas," she said as she glanced at the two guys behind me. "You don't need to explain yourself. I could see what was happening too, so I kind of figured you would run to help him."

"Still…" I don't know why I felt so guilty leaving her like that. If I were with anyone else, I know they would have understood, so why did I feel any different about Naminé? It wasn't like it was particularly difficult to determine why I ran off.

"Roxas, Naminé," Ven called. "We're gonna head back inside. You gonna stay out here for a while?"

"Maybe for a bit," I said back.

They nodded and went back inside. I can only hope that nothing else happens while they're in there. Maybe they'll just go back into the lounging room again. I've had enough issues for one night. Oddly enough, I still think the worst part about tonight was finding out who Mr. the Wise really is.

"Did you want to go back in, Nam?" I asked.

"Um, maybe in a bit," she said dropping her gaze from me slightly, "that is, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," I said, smiling and allowing her to lead the way back to the staircase.

Once we got back on the terrace, we tried to resume our conversation from before, but I couldn't focus properly. First off, I couldn't really remember what we'd been talking about, and second, my mind was still racing over everything that had just happened. I'm sure that Ven and the Organization have had worse fights in the past, but over something so small like that? Did Xigbar actually drop something valuable, or did he just make up a reason to start fighting? I could honestly see either being a possibility.

"Roxas?"

"What? Oh, sorry, what'd you say, Naminé?"

I shook my head and glanced over at her worried expression. "You haven't said anything in a while," she said, concern prominent in her voice. "What's the matter?"

"I… I've got a lot to think about," I sighed. "Does this happen often? The fights I mean. I can't imagine anything ever getting this out-of-hand at Twilight Academy. Do you think Xigbar actually dropped something or was he just making it up so they could beat up Ven?"

She hesitated for a moment. I could see in her eyes that she wanted to say something but was unsure if she could tell me. I feel like everything here has just been complex since day one. Why does there have to be so much confusion and fighting and hatred? All these secrets and missing pieces are driving me insane! I wish there was someone who could spell it all out for me! I know Nam knows the answers, but I could never force her to tell me; she's the one person I've been able to count on. To think that it's only been one week…

Finally, she decided to say something. "…Well, given where we are, I can guess that Xigbar might have actually had… something valuable with him. I can't imagine he would purposely drop it so that he had a reason to fight with Ven; it seems like too much munny to simply throw away…"

I scratched the back of my head, attempting to lay out all the details she'd given to me. Unfortunately, I'm not the greatest detective, so I couldn't make thick or thin of what she said. Oh well, might as well ask.

"Naminé?"

"Mm?"

"You know something, don't you? More than you're telling me about."

She breathed in sharply and failed to meet my eyes. It hurts to make her feel uncomfortable, but I need some sort of answers. I don't want to have to be stuck in the middle of this high school war when I don't even know why it's being fought! Naminé might be my only way to find out what's going on, and yet even she, of all people, is reluctant to let me in.

"Roxas, I… I wish I could tell you," she said weakly. "I feel awful keeping you in the dark, but… maybe someday…"

"It's okay, Nam. Don't trouble yourself over this." I could see that she was getting more distressed, so I had to let it go.

"One day, when I'm stronger, I'll try… And then we can talk about everything. I… I'd like to someday soon. I promise!"

I smiled as we locked eyes with each other. Her resolve was strong, but behind it hid the sadness associated with hiding from me. Hiding the truth that she knew could make or break me. Her eyes said it all, and yet I couldn't read what they were saying. I could see just how much she wanted to say, but she closed herself off; whether from usually being closed off from other people or because she wanted to protect me, I couldn't say. Those eyes that say so much, and yet so little. Perhaps someday I'll be able to understand what they're saying, crying out to me.

I started getting lost in what began as a simple glance. Neither of us said anything nor did we look away from each other. It was… soothing, to say the least, to gaze into the blue orbs in front of me. I'd never realized just how deep and, well, beautiful her eyes really were. It's funny how that works, seeing as they were one of the first things I'd noticed when seeing her for the first time. Something about the way they sparkle and tell me that everything will be all right was just what I needed to feel at ease.

"Well, what do we have here?" chuckled a sarcastic voice.

Naminé and I both woke from our trances and quickly looked over to where the voice had come from, Axel. He was standing a short distance away from us with his arms crossed and a snarky grin on his face. Xion stood beside him, though her face was a bit unreadable from this distance. Obviously her facial expressions aren't nearly as… loud as Axel's. The sound of something crashing down the metal stairs caught all of our attentions.

"Wah! … I'm okay!" I heard Demyx's voice shout from below. Heh, it would be him to fall down the stairs, the clumsy oaf.

"Sorry to interrupt your, ah, moment," Axel jeered, pulling on his collar as he walked closer to where we were lying down. "We didn't realize you two were up here. Should we… leave you alone again?"

God, he certainly is milking everything out of this moment, isn't he? Hopefully my face wasn't too noticeably red. I didn't need to look over at Naminé to know how red her face probably was. Hell, combined our faces would probably make Axel's hair look blue by comparison!

"How long have you been up here?" asked Xion.

"Uh, a while, I guess," I shrugged. "We had to go down to stop a fight between Ven, Riku, Xigbar, and Luxord, but other than that we've been up here since the dance battle ended."

"Ah," Axel said, nodding in response, "I saw Ven come back in. Looks like he got roughed up pretty bad. I'm guessing ol' Xiggy got to him?"

I had to snicker at the nickname. No one would ever match up a childish nickname like Xiggy with someone as menacing as Xigbar. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Because if Luxord got to him then he'd have papercuts instead of bruises," Xion answered matter-of-factly.

"I guess that makes sense…"

Once Demyx made his way over to us (after falling down the stairs a second time, no less), the three newcomers pulled up a few more deck chairs to lie down beside us. Call me a womanizer, but I was enjoying the fact that both Naminé and Xion were huddled up pretty close to me. Axel and Demyx were sitting off to the other side talking about something or other, leaving only me with the two girls.

"So what's been going inside?" I asked, attempting to get some sort of conversation going.

"Oh, nothing different," said Xion. "Sora was trying to show off for Kairi at one point, but I don't think it worked out so well."

"Heh, sounds like your typical Sora," I laughed; Naminé giggled as well.

"What about you two?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"What exactly have you been… _doing_ out here?" she said a little more mischievously.

"N-nothing!" Naminé sputtered before I could react. "We were just talking and stuff!"

"Heehee, sounds like a little more judging from your reaction," Xion chuckled.

I decided to play along a bit. I couldn't see too much harm coming from joking around with Xion; she is one of my closer friends after all.

"Yeah, you're right," I said, ignoring the squeak from Naminé, "I mean you can only gaze at the stars and talk for so long. Other than that, there really isn't much to do… y'know, besides each other."

Xion burst out laughing, clearly not expecting me to have said that. Naminé bonked me lightly on the head while I chuckled away. I knew she wasn't the type to go along with dirty jokes, but it was just too opportune! Axel and Demyx gave us a passing glance, but were otherwise unfazed by the hysterical outburst. I wonder what they're talking about. Sure seems serious, especially for those two. Meh, probably has something to do with DJ-ing gigs or something.

"Ahaha… that was good, Roxas," Xion said as her giggles started dying down. "I didn't think you would make a joke like that, especially not around Naminé!"

"Yeah, me neither…" Nam grumbled from beside me; luckily it didn't sound like an angry grumble.

"Heh, normally I don't but that just seemed way too perfect."

"Well, I'm always open for dirty jokes, so don't hold back for me!" Xion exclaimed.

Oh man, here comes another one! "I guess if you're always open then it wouldn't make any sense for me to hold back, now would it?"

She fell into another giggle fit, but slapped me on the chest this time. "Haha, you dickhead!" I could hear Naminé giggling lightly from beside me as well. I guess as long as it's not about her I'm allowed to make those sorts of comments around her.

We ended up talking and joking around for quite some time before we decided to head back into the building. My phone said eleven thirty, and it was visibly less crowded inside. People were probably leaving or just winding down in their own lounge rooms. I laughed when I saw Sora on the dance floor, still trying to keep up with the energetic music. He's always one of the last people left standing at parties and such.

Naminé and I parted ways with Xion, Axel, and Demyx as we headed to our respective lounge rooms. Once inside ours, we plopped down on the couch next to Ven. He was holding an ice pack to his face while Terra and Aqua tried to cheer him up. Everyone else except for Sora, Selphie, and Rikku were all just chilling out and talking.

"Hey, there he is!" I heard Sora say as he popped his head into the room.

"Ooh, Roxas, come dance with us!" Selphie and Rikku said as they skipped over to me. Protesting was useless since they didn't wait for an answer and dragged me out by my wrists. I gave Naminé an apologetic smile before I was pulled out of the room.

"Yeah, keep the party going strong!" the DJ cheered through the mic. "We've got a slow song on the way, so keep it going hard until then!"

I laughed as I saw Sora dragging Kairi out of the room as well. The five of us bounced around for a while before Tidus and Yuna came to join us too. At one point, some random guys got everyone to start fist pumping and it kept going for all of thirty seconds. That may not seem like a long time, but when the music is going fast and everyone's jumping and bumping around, thirty seconds is like a record-breaking amount of time to keep your arm pumping in the air!

"Yeeeah!" cheered the DJ. "You guys are all crazy dancers, but now I think it's time to sloooow thiiings doooooown."

Suddenly the lighting in the room changed into a mix of blues and purples as a disco ball came down. A few people cheered as couples left and right got paired off. I could tell that Selphie and Rikku were waiting for me to ask one of them, but it would've been unfair to ask only one of them. I didn't want to hurt only one of their feelings, so I desperately started glancing around for someone I knew. There! A short, raven-haired girl with unmistakable blue eyes!

"HeyXionwannadancegreatlet'sgo!" I said as I pulled her over to me and quickly wrapped my arms around her waist. I shot a nervous glance over to Selphie and Rikku to see them scowling at me as they went to go find other guys to dance with. Mission accomplished!

"Heh, um, that was unexpected," she chuckled, wrapping her arms behind my neck. "I thought you'd be dancing with Naminé."

"Aw, you don't want to dance with me, Xion?" I feigned offense.

"No, no, no, I'm perfectly happy with this," she said with absolute honesty. "I mean who wouldn't want to dance with a cutie like you?"

"Oh, stop it, you; you'll make me blush!"

"Heehee, you're so weird, Roxas."

"But you love me for it."

"Of course! I can't imagine you being any other way."

It was a nice change of pace to have a lighthearted conversation with Xion in this environment as opposed to our history class. We get along really well, so it's great that we can have fun little moments like this. Unlike Naminé, Xion's a bit more like an average teenage girl, so I don't have to be quite as careful with my words; not that I dislike conversing with Naminé!

"Oh," she said as we swayed back and forth, "so Axel and I were gonna hang out at his house tomorrow night and watch a few movies. Did you wanna come along?"

I pondered the idea for a moment. It sounded fun enough, but the fact that Axel and Xion were initially planning on hanging out just the two of them got me wondering…

"Uh, I mean it sounds fun and all, but would that make it awkward?"

"Hmm? How so?"

"Y'know… like a third wheel?"

Her cheeks flushed as she went through a mix of different expressions. If I had to describe all of the faces she made, I'd say it was a mixture of awkward, amusement, disgust, hilarity, and surprise.

"Ehehe, you think… you think that Axel and I… that we're… hahaha, we're most certainly not together, Roxas! I'm not planning on dating him, like, ever so you can stop being worried about that."

I felt like it would be okay to laugh, but at the same time it didn't. I know they're close friends and all, but wouldn't it be insulting to say that you would never consider dating someone? I dunno how these things work, but at least I got that cleared up.

"Hehe, sorry, just had to make sure. But yeah, that sounds fun!" I paused for a moment; would it be okay to invite Naminé? I didn't want to seem like that guy who gets invited to something and invites others. Then again, it isn't like this'll end up being some huge chain reaction.

"Would it be cool if I invited Naminé?" I asked, figuring there'd be no harm in checking.

She made a thinking face before responding, "Mm, probably, but maybe you should check with Axel first since it's his house."

"Heh, didn't _you_ just invite me though?"

"Hey, don't flip this on me!" she laughed. We continued swaying to the rest of the song without saying anything. It was nice to have this moment of peace after all the other crazy things went down earlier. I glanced over to the right and saw Naminé standing by the side with Ven. They seemed to be talking about something, and it was refreshing to see that she knew how to converse with people other than me, ignoring the fact that he looks and sounds exactly the same as I do. I smiled as she gave me a passing glance, receiving a wave and smile in return. Ven turned to give me a thumbs-up while he made a rude thrusting motion. Of course he would do that.

The song ended and the two of us unwrapped our arms from around each other. It might just be because it was getting warm inside, but Xion seemed to be blushing. Saying she was going to find Axel to talk to him about tomorrow night, she quickly made her way off. I, meanwhile, made my way over to Naminé.

"Alright, alright, party people!" said the DJ. "There's only three minutes 'til midnight, so I'ma play you all one more slow song! By popular demand, and requested by Selphie Tilmitt and Rikku Al Bhed for Roxas Destati. Here it is, Sanctuary!"

I blushed a bit when I heard him announce that Selphie and Rikku had requested the song for me. That was a pretty clear sign that I was supposed to choose one of them. Luckily I wasn't standing anywhere near as close to them as I was for the previous song so I was able to keep my cool as I turned to Naminé.

"Heh, uh, you wanna dance, Nam?"

"Y-you want to d-dance… with me?" she stuttered, seemingly shocked by the question.

"Well, yeah, I don't see why not," I said, smiling to her and holding out my hand. Ven grinned at me as he went back into the room. I guess he didn't want to dance with anyone while he had to hold an ice pack to his face.

"U-um, I suppose. No one's ever asked me to dance before…"

"Don't worry," I said, leading her onto the dance floor where most people were already swaying with their partners, "all you have to do is wrap your arms behind my neck and we just kinda sway back and forth."

She gasped lightly as I placed my hands on her waist, causing me to chuckle a bit. After she got used to the feeling, she smiled softly at me and wrapped her arms around my neck, though her flushed cheeks were quite apparent.

"Oh, they're so adorable!" I heard Kairi say. I glanced over to see her dancing with Sora while her and a few others stared over at us, not even bothering to avert their gazes upon seeing me look over.

"I guess they make a cuter couple than he and I would," Yuna giggled. Tidus grinned widely at her comment and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Ugh, he was supposed to dance with one of us!" Selphie whined. "Now this song request is pointless!"

"Oh, give it a rest, Selph," Rikku huffed, "he's obviously trying to get with Naminé, so let's just go find some guys again. Ooh, I wonder if Locke found a partner yet!"

I chuckled lightly and turned back to Naminé. "Looks like we caused quite the commotion."

"Heehee, you mean _you _did. I just followed you over here," she responded.

"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean you didn't want to, does it?"

"Mm, no, I'm happy that this is how I'm gonna end my night."

We both locked eyes again as the sound of Utada's voice floated around the crowds of people. Holding her like this as the music played and the lighting wasn't so erratic was probably one of the better, if not the best, thing to happen tonight. It's hard to believe that I've only known this girl for a week, because I feel as though she's been with me my whole life! Something about the way she understands me, knows the right things to say to me, and calms me even when I'm getting frustrated is just so… mesmerizing. I know that this week's been filled with a lot of hardship and that she's been partially holding something back from me, but right now none of that matters. All that matters right now is that I'm happy to have her as a friend.

I wonder, though, does she feel the same way? It's hard to tell because she prefers to stay out of bigger groups of people. Perhaps it's different since I, admittedly, forced myself into her life. I know she likes me on a friendly level, but is there more to it than that? Maybe, maybe not, but I can't be sure without knowing how I feel about her.

How do I feel about her?

She's… well, she's one of the greatest people I've ever met! I certainly can't say I've ever met another Naminé before. Sure, she may be a bit of a recluse, but she was open enough to let me into her world. But why did I want to be a part of her world in the first place? It started out as something superficial, but this shy, quiet, artistic girl proved herself to be more than a pretty face despite her timid nature. I suppose I hadn't given much thought on what exactly I feel about her. I like her, but on what level.

Do I like her as a friend, or is it something more?

One week is such a short time to develop feelings for a person, and yet everything I feel about her is just so natural. I'd like to say she's like a sister to me, but… simply put, she just isn't! If I had a sister, I wouldn't treat her in the same way I act around Nam. All my crushes in the past have made me get sweaty palms, a dry mouth, go weak in the knees, and all sorts of other clichés. When I'm with Naminé though… everything just feels right, like we're supposed to be these close people. I guess the question stays unanswered then, because I don't know if I like her as more than a friend!

"Roxas… um, I… thanks for taking me out tonight," she said, breaking my though bubble. "This isn't something I would normally do, but I had a great time tonight."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah! No problem," I responded. "I should actually be thanking you for coming tonight."

"How come? You're the one who wanted to take me out."

"Yeah, but you agreed. Heh, I guess that would make you my unofficial date for tonight."

She blushed, but a smile crept itself onto her face. Wow, her smile is so pretty: subtle, yes, but probably the prettiest smile I've ever seen a girl have.

The song ended a little while later, and the lights returned to a regular setup. People began filing out of the building, as the staff began closing up The Lounge for the night. I made sure to keep a firm hold on Naminé so that we wouldn't get swept away by the floods of people.

Once outside, Ven, Naminé, and I said goodbye to the rest of our friends and got into my car. Other than a bit of light chatter, we didn't really say anything of much interest during the drive. We pulled into her mansion's driveway (which, by the way, still scares the hell out of me) and I decided I would be a gentleman and walk her to the door. It's a long-ish walk there, so it would do no good to make her go alone.

"Um, thanks again, Roxas," she said when we stood outside her front door. "I… I had a good time."

"Yeah, me too," I said, unsure of exactly what to say. "Oh, I almost forgot. If… if you're not busy tomorrow night, Xion, Axel, and I were gonna get together to watch a few movies. You can come along if you want."

"Tomorrow night…" she said, glancing upwards and rubbing her chin. "I might have to stay home tomorrow, but you could come over during the daytime if you want."

"Th-the daytime?" I stuttered, looking at the still-intimidating mansion I was standing before. "Won't your dad be home? And Larxene?"

"I think my dad has to work tomorrow," she responded flatly, "and Larxene won't bother us. I hardly ever see her unless we get forced to go out somewhere. I mean if you don't want to, you don't have to…"

"Oh, no, no, no!" I said, noticing the drop in her tone of voice. "Sorry, it's just that your dad kinda scares me, and, well, neither of us really gets on well with Larxene."

"Heehee, yeah, I understand. Okay, well, um, call me or something tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Yeah, will do."

I expected that to be the ending note of our night. She shifted a bit uncomfortably for a moment, and I wasn't quite sure what she was doing. Had I said something wrong, or rather, failed to say something right? I'm no expert on dating or anything, but I wouldn't consider this a real date, and I'm sure she knows less than I do. As I was wondering what was wrong though, I felt her quickly kiss my cheek, followed by the door swinging wide open.

"Ah, Roxas!" Mr. the Wise boomed cheerfully, though his loud announcement made me feel like pissing my pants. Was he waiting to hear a kiss sound or something?! Yeesh, it wasn't even me who did it! "Thank you for bringing Naminé back safely! I trust you had a good time since it is nearly half past midnight. Naminé, is Larxene with you?"

"Oh, er, no. I think she's-"

"Right here, Ansem," said a voice from behind me. It's so weird to hear her call Mr. the Wise by his first name, especially with all the authority he holds!

"Holy crap!" she said, jumping slightly when she saw me. "God, do you and your brother have to look so freakishly alike?!" Uh… well, we are twins, Einstein…

"Heh, I'm not quite sure what that was about," Mr. the Wise mused as Larxene crept past him through the doorway, "but I suppose it's none of my concern. Anyway, thank you again, Roxas. I'll be seeing you on Monday."

Naminé and I stood a bit awkwardly while he stood in the doorway. Obviously he was making sure no smooching would go on (not that it would have), so we looked at each other in slight discomfort, though sheepish smiles spread on both our faces.

"Uh, goodnight, Roxas," she said after a short time, giving me a friendly hug.

"Oh, uh, yeah, g'night. I'll see you soon I guess," I responded, hugging her back. Since I was still facing the doorway, I could see Mr. the Wise giving me a serious look. He seemed okay with the hug, but his face was reading something like 'this hug is as much as you'll be getting with my daughter'. It's okay, Mr. the Wise, we're on the same page.

Unwrapping our arms from each other, I turned back away from the front door and made my way to the car. When I got back, Ven was drumming his fingers on the dashboard.

"So," he said as I got into the driver's seat, a mischievous smirk on his face, "when are you two gonna start dating?"

…This is going to be a long ride home…

* * *

Woo, this chapter turned out pretty much the way I wanted it! :) I don't know if any of you could tell, but I was getting a little stuck for ideas up until the part where Roxas gets dragged out to dance with Selphie and Rikku. I'm not really sure what happened, but from that point onward the dialogue and scenes and whatnot just started spilling out like crazy. So, in case you're wondering, that is why I believe the second half of this chapter is of higher quality than the first.

**Anyway, I'd like to kindly ask that you guys REVIEW after you're done reading the chapter! **Hopefully it doesn't seem like I'm trying to beg for reviews, but there is a reason behind this. I haven't exactly been getting much feedback on this story, so I don't know if there are things I'm doing wrong or could be doing better. I lost someone's favourite over the past week, and I'm not sure if it's because of something I've been doing that they didn't like or not because I've only been getting feedback from maybe one or two people every chapter. So if you guys would be kind enough to leave me one or two thoughts, that'd be great and would definitely help me improve this story!

So, yeah, review and check out my soundcloud (link on my profile)!

_-GengaJupite_


	8. Did he just use 'lol' as a word?

Well, it's finals time, guys. I have my finals on the 19th and 23rd so I can't promise my next update being right on schedule. I might also be starting work soon, so my updates will probably be affected depending on if I get the job or not. Heh, I kinda need money…

I changed the description/summary for this story because the old one was so boring and generic that I'm surprised anyone actually bothered to check it out :P. I think now it sounds a little more interesting, so perhaps I'll be getting more views? I mean with **Redeeming Endeavor** bringing back his RokuNami fic I would hope that people might be more open about reading some Roxas and Naminé now!

Anyway, thanks to my reviewers!

**X-blade025: **I'm trying to keep as many things fresh as I can, but it is a little difficult to do so with the excessive amount of KH fics there are; so it's relieving to see that you find some of the things I'm doing are non-cliché. That being said, Selphie and Rikku won't be mean, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're gonna step back without a fight ;). Naminé's confession and the thing Xigbar dropped are related, but I'm not actually sure how long it'll be before that info gets dropped. I need the suspense factor to last for a while so that when Roxas finally does find out, it'll be a surprise to everyone. Sorry, can't say more than that right now!

**tsukuneXmoka: **To be quite honest, I thought the intensity was a bit lacking, but if it came off as a fiery grudge, then I suppose I did my job! Not sure if your review got cut off in the middle or something, but I got the gist of what you were saying :P

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Did he just use 'lol' as a word?_

"So, what'd you have planned for today, Nam?"

"Mm, nothing special, but I know my dad wants me to stay home tonight, which is why I can't come to Axel's with you."

"Yeah, that's fine, we can always get together some other time."

She nodded and returned her attention to the canvas in front of her. When I got to her house, she told me simply that she just wanted a few minutes to finish up her painting. With nothing else to do, I started browsing through an old portfolio of her past works and awards. Honestly, from the few pieces I've seen, I'm surprised she hasn't won an award for all of them! I guess she doesn't submit them all into competitions and whatnot.

A light chuckle escaped me when I came across a specific picture in the book. It was just a photo of her being super concentrated on a piece she was painting in this very studio, but the way her mouth was opened just enough to show her biting her tongue was, well, funny. I glanced up briefly to see her in almost the exact same position and had to force myself not to laugh.

She must keep this studio pretty clean because she was clearly much younger in the photo, but the same hardwood floor, spotless walls, and big, clear window were all still here now. The only additions seemed to be a sketching desk in the corner and a portrait of her, her father, and a woman who I'm assuming was her mother. From the look of it, Naminé gets her hair from her dad and eyes from her mom.

"Okay, all done!" she said, dropping her paintbrush in a rinsing cup as she stood.

I closed the book and made my way over to where she was, curious about what it could be that she'd been working on. A smile and the feeling of warmth filled me as I gazed upon the familiar orange-brown cityscape she'd painted.

"Twilight Town," I breathed.

"Mhm. I haven't been there in a while, so it's mostly just from memory."

From what I could tell, it looked like a pretty accurate representation of the tram common and market street. Heh, I wish I could make something as nice as this from memory! The only thing I'd probably remember off the top of my head would be the clock tower. Oh, and maybe the tram station.

"Well, I've lived there for most of the past three years, so I'd say it looks pretty good!" I said, turning to smile at her.

She returned my smile with one of her own and didn't blush for once. I guess she's had enough praise over her artwork to feel confident in her abilities about it.

"M'kay, well, we can go do something else now," she said, ushering me out of the room. "Any ideas?"

I chuckled lightly as we began descending the staircase. "Uh, it's your house, isn't it? Why don't you pick something to do?"

The ever-familiar blush crept onto her face upon hearing my words. "Oh, well… it's just that I… I don't usually have people over… I don't know what we could do. I don't even know what boys like doing…"

And to think that I always thought it was a one-sided thing. I mean usually girls will make the regular assumption that guys like video games, sports, and generally being stupid, most of which aren't completely incorrect; however, I have yet to meet a guy who actually knows what girls like to do for regular things… Why do girls have to be complicated like that? Can't they just have a common set of things they like to do that isn't something like talking about guys? Hey, I'm just making the assumption that's what they do, and I'm not really down to discuss guys with Naminé…

"Heh, I guess… what do you like to do; y'know, other than drawing and painting?" I suggested to get some ideas going.

"Mm, sometimes I like going in the pool?" she answered, though it was in a question format.

"Okay, well, I brought a pair of swim trunks for Axel's later, so we can do that if you want."

"Um, sure… Yeah! I'll have to get changed though," she said, stopping on the step we were on. "You can, uh, use the bathroom downstairs to change. Turn left at the bottom of the stairs and it's the first door down that hall."

"Thanks," I said before she turned back and hurried up to her room.

"Well, aren't you a smooth one?" sneered a snarky voice from below. I looked in the direction of the voice to see Larxene leaning against a wall while examining her nails.

"Oh, uh, hey, Larxene. I wasn't expecting to see you here… What'd you mean by that?"

"Tch, didn't expect to see me in my own home? I thought you were the smart twin, Roxas," she snickered. Uh, I _am_ the smart one, for your information. "And don't play dumb with me, you just wanna see Naminé's cute little body get into a swimsuit, don'tcha?"

I felt my cheeks start burning up as Larxene smirked devilishly at me. It truly hadn't been my intention to be perverted like that, but the way she worded it made it sound like I actually did just want to see Naminé like that. I mean I wouldn't mind, but… Gah, that's not what I'm trying to say here! It's just an added bonus to the fact that we figured out something to do!

"Oh, leave him alone, Larxene, it's not like you didn't try to do the same thing with me," chuckled a voice from around the corner. Though I couldn't see the speaker, I could instantly tell who it was, and was more than a little surprised by his presence here.

"Aw, can't I have some fun with the little freak?" she whined in a mocking manner. What did I ever do to you, Larxene?

"Axel? What are you doing here?" I asked as he stepped out from behind the wall.

"Heh, hey there, Roxas! What, I can't spend some quality time with this beauty?" he laughed, wrapping his arm around her. Ugh, I'd hardly call her a beauty, especially with those weird antennae…

"Hey, not in front of the kid!" she hissed, pushing him off of her aggressively.

"Oh, he doesn't mind, right, Roxy?"

"It's Roxas…"

"Whatever, man! See, Larxene, he doesn't care; now c'mere!"

Okay, that looks and sounds like my cue to go get changed… Geez, I didn't expect Axel and Larxene to be a couple, and the fact that they're now engaged in… I'll call it a 'mature tickle fight', is a little more than I needed to witness. Quickly as I could, I rushed into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. Should I say anything about it later? Nah, I think I'd rather forget those images…

"A-Axel! Haha… s-stop it!"

"Oh, how about if I do it this way?"

"Hehe… oh. Oh! Mm, that feels good. Maybe you aren't so useless after all."

"I always know how to please my women."

"Why don't we take the pleasing upstairs then?"

…I wish I could block out sounds as easily as I can images. I shuddered as they continued their dirty talk. Gross, weren't they gonna take it upstairs?! I mean not that I want to hear stories about it later, but I'd rather not hear the actual thing happening right now! I flushed the toilet simply to drown out some of the sound. Hey, wasting water for this sake is okay in my books!

As soon as I finished changing, I sped out of the immediate area and found myself in a cozy family room with some comfortable couches and a big TV. The coffee table in the centre complimented the simplistic feel of this room, and I could see the pool just outside of the big window. Well, hopefully Nam will come this way when she sees that I'm not in the bathroom. I didn't want to have to wait on the steps for her while Axel and Larxene were still doing their thing just a few metres away from me…

"Oh good, you're here already," came a voice from behind me. I spun around to see a towel draped around Naminé's torso, though the straps of her top were still visible. Making sure not to keep my eyes lingering on her for too long, I followed her out the door and into the back.

We spent a good portion of time in the pool, mostly just splashing around and talking about whatever came to mind. One of the big topics was about our lives in Twilight Town. It's funny, but I started going to school there at about the same time she moved here, so it made sense that I'd never even seen or heard of her before. She told me all about her childhood and her old friends (I was surprised to find out she knew Vivi, but I suppose it was a long time ago), reminiscing of days when she could run around and watch struggle tournaments in the sandlot. I couldn't describe it exactly but somehow I felt… happy to see her face so aglow as she told me all sorts of stories. I'd never actually seen her so talkative before!

But that changed when she mentioned her mother. It must be painful to lose a parent, especially at such a young age. I still had my mom and dad, so I couldn't really relate to what she had to say.

"That's kind of how I met Sora though," she said, resting her head on the side of the pool. "We were both seeing the same counselor every week, and she suggested that the two of us try sorting out our problems together."

I really didn't have much to say. I didn't like to remember how broken Sora had been when Uncle Zack died. I felt worse because I was off at school, but I came back for the funeral. Ven and I had always been close to our aunt and uncle, so the pain was reasonable enough for us, but I hoped I would never have to see Sora like that again. That thought alone made me cringe as I imagined Naminé as a child, going to her own mother's funeral.

"Roxas," she said, snapping me out of my thoughts, "you don't need to look so upset. It was a long time ago and I've grown up now. Of course I miss her, but there's no sense in dwelling on the past, right?"

"I-I suppose," I stuttered, trying my best to recompose myself. "It's just weird to think that I've grown up with a loving family while everyone else around me has had some tragedy shake their lives. Sora's always been the kid to try looking on the brighter side of things, but I don't know how his mom, my Aunt Aerith, deals with it all. I mean first Uncle Zack passed away, and then there was… the accident…"

"Accident?"

I cursed myself mentally for letting that slip. It wasn't like it was some big family secret, but the predicament was a pretty touchy subject in our family.

"It's… it's difficult to talk about," I sighed, feeling guilty about not telling her, mostly due to the fact that she'd just spilled her soul out to me about her mother. "Sora's been through more hardship than anyone I know… but he's still puts on such a brave face every day."

"Oh… y-you don't have to explain it to me, Roxas," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I… I think I know what this is about already."

I smiled slightly in relief. At first I was unsure how she could've known what I was talking about, but I suppose if she and Sora used to talk out their issues together, then she probably would've been around with him when the second tragedy struck.

"You're a really good person, Naminé," I said, nudging her foot underwater. "I'm glad I got to meet you."

"Heehee, feeling sentimental, Roxas?" she giggled, nudging my foot back.

And just like that we were out of the depressing subject of our conversation and back on track to being carefree. It still amazes me just how well she gets me and how much she can relate to the things in my life. Well, I suppose most of the hardships aren't directly related to me, but she understands things in a way that others just wouldn't. It makes me wonder how different this first week would have been if I hadn't met her.

Much later, when the sun was only about three finger spaces away from touching the horizon, Naminé took me to sit on the roof outside the window in her room. Heh, she always does seem to surprise me; I never thought the timid painter girl would be the one to sit outside on the roof of her house just for the thrill of it.

"Okay," I said, scratching my head in thought, "so, I know your dad is actually a heart surgeon, but what does Larxene's mom do?"

"Oh, she's actually one of his assistants. It's kinda how they met," she replied nonchalantly.

"So I guess they'll be home around the same time then, huh?"

"Yeah, why? Does the idea of her mom make you more nervous?"

"Hehe, not particularly, I was just thinking that maybe if she were around that your dad would be a little less intimidating."

She giggled, apparently never having thought that her father could be so terrifying. Hey, I'm not even dating her and he freaks me out! I just really hope this doesn't carry over to school. I can't even imagine how it'd be if I were dating her!

I blushed at the idea: me dating Naminé? Sure, I'd spent a small portion of yesterday night wondering how I felt about her, but I thought I'd decided that I didn't know. I'd say now that it's probably just a side effect of becoming such fast friends with her. I mean it isn't like I feel the same way about, oh I dunno, Xion. But then, wouldn't it make more sense if I did feel the same way about both of them? If I did, that would be a sign that they're on the same level, and yet here I am thinking about my friend Xion and my… crush(?) Naminé. No, she's just a friend; I feel different because I was serious about her being my best friend though! That has to be it, right?

I stole a glance at her while she stared off into the distance. I couldn't help but smile lightly as I watched the soft breeze blow her hair back a little. In her hands was the sketchbook that she liked to scribble down on in case she was suddenly hit with inspiration. I'm guessing she's already drawn or painted a Destiny Islands sunset, so that's probably why the page she's on is still blank. I awkwardly looked away when she gave me a passing glance.

Heh, maybe we're rubbing off on each other. I thought that only I was making her feel more comfortable around people, but it seems as though I'm also becoming shyer around her. Is that… weird? Normally people feel more at ease when they spend more time with each other, but something about spending all this time with Naminé has made me feel almost more self-conscious: like I have to be normal around her. I haven't acted unlike myself around her, so I don't really know why I'm feeling this way either!

"Yo, Roxas!" called a voice from below. I glanced down to the driveway to see a redheaded porcupine waving up to the roof. "You ready to go?"

I glanced at my watch to check the time: seven. "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute!" I called back.

"Sorry, I guess I lost track of time," Naminé said shyly, clambering back through her window.

"Ah, no harm done, so don't worry about it," I said, thanking her as she helped me back in. I happened to notice a few lines on her sketchpad, but didn't bother asking about it.

"Um, thanks for coming over, Roxas," she said when we got to the front door.

"Heh, no need to thank me, Nam; I'd much rather hang out with you than at home by myself. I had fun!"

Chuckling lightly, she stepped towards me and gave me a hug. While I wasn't expecting it, I certainly don't mind getting hugs from her. I mean if I get one every time we go our separate ways, then I should hang out with her more often!

But then I'd prefer if the door didn't swing open and scare the crap out of me every time something like this happens…

"Oh, hello, Roxas!" boomed Mr. the Wise. God, he knows the worst times to open the door, doesn't he? "I didn't expect to see you here!"

"M-Mr. the Wise!" I stuttered, jumping back from Naminé in surprise. "I-I was just leaving!"

"Haha, relax, my boy, I didn't mean to scare you off!" Uh, are you sure about that? I'm pretty sure that no one scares me more than you do…

"Th-that's not it at all, sir. I was, er, actually just heading out with Axel…"

"Axel? Oh yes, that skinny troublemaker who likes to spend time with Larxene," he mused as an attractive blonde woman walked up beside him. Whoa, I'm assuming this is Larxene's mom, but, wow, she's… hotter than her daughter.

"Oh, Axel's not that bad," she said, taking her husband by the arm. "Larxene isn't exactly a princess, so I think they fit together well. You must be Naminé's new friend," she added, holding her hand out for me to shake, "Roxas, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Phew, she seems _so_ much less intimidating than Mr. the Wise. "It's nice to meet you, er, Mrs. the Wise."

"No need for such formalities," she chuckled as we shook hands, "you can call me Quistis."

Nodding politely, we unclenched our hands from each other's and I stood awkwardly for another moment. Heh, meeting people's parents usually goes this way so I suppose it's not really a bad thing. I'm not really sure if I'll get used to the idea that I can call one of the adults in this house by her first name but have to continue referencing the other in formality.

"I, uh, I'll see you at school, Nam," I finally managed to say as I scratched the back of my neck.

"Um, yeah, see you then," she responded in the same manner. Apparently this situation was just as awkward for her as it was for me.

"Don't forget your assignment, Roxas," Mr. the Wise said after I'd slipped on my shoes.

"Oh, Ansem, don't bother the poor boy!" chuckled Mrs.… I mean Quistis.

That sounds like my cue to leave. Lazily waving my arm behind me, I hurriedly made my way down the driveway. Hopefully Axel wouldn't be too annoyed that I'd made him wait for a bit. I'm sure he'd understand if I told him what just happened; after all, from the way they made it sound, he had also had a similar confrontation with them at some point.

"Sorry!" I called when I saw his impatient expression through his windshield. "Her parents kinda held me off at the door for a bit."

"Heh, whatever, man. Just get in your car and follow behind so we can get outta here sooner!"

I smirked and quickly got into my car, careful to make sure I could follow behind him. Luckily the drive to his place was relatively smooth and there wasn't too much traffic. Okay, I know there aren't many other cars on the road, but do you have to drive so freaking fast, Axel? Good thing it doesn't look like we're racing… We both pulled into his driveway at about seven thirty to see Xion just about to turn onto the walkway to his front door. Whoa, talk about perfect timing! Huh, who's calling me?

"Ha! I won!" …Really, Axel… instead of taking another two seconds to step out of the car and say it you had to call me to brag about a race that we weren't even having… You were showing me how to get to your house, stupid!

"Hey, guys!" Xion called and waved over to both of us. "Good thing I left a bit late or I'd have been waiting here like a loser!"

"Heh, what do you mean 'like' a loser?" Axel chuckled as he and I both got out of our respective vehicles. _Smack._ Should've seen that one coming, Axel.

"Did you guys both go somewhere without me?" she asked, noting that we'd both just gotten to his place at the same time.

"Kinda," I started, "but not in the way you're thinking!"

"Yeah, we didn't ditch you or anything," Axel added while rubbing his cheek. "I was just over at Larxene's, y'know, gettin' my freak on-" Xion and I grimaced, "-and outta nowhere Roxas starts walking down the stairs."

She gave me an odd look and I couldn't help but feel… guilty? I'm not sure if that's the right word, but it's the closest emotion I can think of right now.

"_You_ were hanging out at _Larxene's_?" she asked incredulously, making sure to emphasize the fact that it was me at Larxene's.

"Well, technically he was there with Naminé," Axel said flatly while making his way towards the door.

Upon hearing that, Xion's dumbfounded expression was quickly changed into a smirk as she raised one eyebrow. Let's see, how am I meant to react right now? Do I go with the 'it's not what you think' or the simplistic 'what'? Maybe I should just scratch the back of my neck and chuckle awkwardly while avoiding eye contact; yeah, that sounds the most like me…

"So you spent the day with the little princess, eh, Roxy?" she jeered. Why do they insist on calling me Roxy?

"Um, I wouldn't call her a little princess…" I said offhandedly. "Besides, I thought you and her were friends."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't give her nicknames! I have nicknames for most of my friends! Axel is Red, Sora is Spikes, Demyx is Demy, you're-"

"Roxy."

"-Dork."

It was my turn to have the dumbfounded expression while she giggled away. Did she just say my nickname was Dork? I've certainly never heard her call me that… Quick, Roxas, think of a good comeback!

"Guys, are you coming in or what?" Axel called to us from the doorway. Xion didn't give me a chance to retaliate to her comment, running inside the house before I got the chance.

"So, Axel," Xion said as we all plopped down on the couches in his basement, "what'd you have planned for us tonight?"

"Oh, well, first I was gonna tell you guys all about what Larxene and I got up to today," he said with a wink. "Roxas, you gotta back me up on these! Xion never believes my stories!"

"Uh, I'd rather not," I grimaced.

"And I never said I didn't believe you!" Xion added. "I just said that I didn't wanna hear any more of your nasty sex talk!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh, talk about your tough crowd," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, I dunno, it's up to you guys what we do. Movies, games, hot tub, pool table, threesome-"

"Hot tub?" Xion suggested. Either she didn't hear the last thing he said or she purposely blocked it out.

"Classic. Girls always wanna get me out of my shirt!" Axel laughed as he pretty much threw off his clothes and ran out back.

"Sooo… What should we talk about?" I asked once all three of us had eased into the bubbling waters.

"Mm, let's talk about you, Roxas," Xion said after a moment of thinking.

"Me?"

"Yeah!" Axel said enthusiastically. "So, like, are you and Naminé dating or something?"

I could practically hear the crickets chirping over the sound of the hot tub's bubbles. Axel was staring at me with a mischievous glint in his eye while Xion seemed relatively straight-faced. Huh, I thought she'd be just as curious as him, but apparently it isn't as big a deal to her. That or her curiosity just pales in comparison to his. I could feel my face reddening, but it would be pretty easy to play it off like it was the water temperature.

"W-What?! No, of course not; I've only known her for a week!"

"Do you like her though?" Xion asked. I was actually expecting Axel to do most of the interrogating here, but I guess not…

"I, uh, well, that is to say…"

"Ha!" Axel threw his head back and laughed. "If that's not the most obvious way to say he does, I don't know what is!"

I was a bit too flustered to argue back right away, but eventually I managed to form a workable response. "No, you didn't let me finish! I just… I don't know if I like her or not is all…"

"How can you… not know?" he questioned.

"…Do you really expect a legitimate answer for that?" I asked, smirking back at him. "If I knew how I didn't know if I liked her, then there would be no question of if I knew if I liked her because I would know why I know I do or don't like her, but since I don't know, I can't possibly know why I do or don't know…"

They both stared back at me with the most confused expressions ever, so I just laughed it off. I have no idea if that statement even made any sense, but the goal was to confuse them, not give a definitive answer.

"Besides, did you know that you liked Larxene right away?" I added.

"Like Larxene?" he asked dumbly. "Pfft, Larxene and I don't like each other! At least not in that way."

…Uh, what?

"Oh, did you think we were dating? Heh, nope, I'm a free man, Roxy!"

…What…

"Yeah, we do that sorta thing all the time, but we're not together or anything."

…Have I said what enough times yet?

"Lol, you look confused. Here, let me spell it out for you." Thanks, that would be much appreciated right now. And did he just use 'lol' as a word? Actually, I do that sometimes, so carry on. "Look, Larxene and I are both two free-spirited people-"

"Oh god, here it comes," Xion facepalmed.

"Hey, this is the legit way to explain this!" he laughed. "Anyway, neither of us wants to be tied down in a relationship because, let's face it, we're two hot people looking for relationships formed around L-U-S-T instead of that love and romance crap that doesn't actually happen. I guess if you wanted to put a label on us, then the nice one would be 'open relationship'. The realistic one is more along the lines of buddies, as in fu-"

"Yeah, I got it," I cringed as I cut him off. Wow, does he rehearse that in front of his mirror or something? It sounded really scripted…

"Man, you cut me off! That was only the introduction!" I guess it is a scripted speech…

"Honestly, Axel, what more could you possibly have to say?" I asked.

"Well-"

"NOPE, we are done with this topic!" Xion cut him off before he could continue.

"Fine, but we haven't exactly gotten to you yet, Xion," Axel huffed, splashing some water at her face.

"What about me?" she responded, sticking out her tongue in a childish manner.

I already knew where this was going, so I answered for Axel, smirking all the while. "Whom are you crushing on?"

She gave me an angry smirk and started blushing. I didn't really think Xion was the type to get embarrassed about stuff, but apparently I've been making quite a few wrong assumptions today. Heh, this ought to be good. Hopefully I at least know the person…

"You guys don't know him," she said plainly.

"I'm pretty sure I know everyone you do," Axel jeered, nudging her on the shoulder.

"He's from Twilight Town…"

"I lived in Twilight Town for the past three years. I probably know him," I chuckled.

"Yeah, or maybe it's you!" Axel laughed; I joined him. Hey, as long as I'm not the one getting ganged up on, I'll laugh along with him!

"You guys are stupid," she muttered, lowering herself a little deeper into the water.

We joked around for a while, Axel and I teaming up on Xion quite a bit since she seemed to be most susceptible to embarrassment. Eventually we got all pruny so we decided to go back in, but not before carrying her into the freezing pool with us. Heh, Axel and I get along much too well.

"You assholes," she huffed once we dried off and lounged down inside. "Just for that, I get to pick the movie!"

"Chick flick?" I asked, smirking towards Axel.

"You know it!" he laughed, giving me a high five.

"Wait… what?!" she said, unable to hide her smile or stifle her laughter. "Do I even want to know, or is it that you two are just girly boys?"

"Nah, it's just funny to point out all the flaws in chick movies," Axel chuckled.

"Hey, chick flicks are not flawed, they're cute!" she retaliated.

"And unrealistic," I snickered. "Think about all the stereotypes for a second. No one wants to kiss in the rain; you'd get all wet. No guy is actually going to write a letter to his far away sweetheart every day for years on end; he'd run out of things to say. Real guys aren't actually going to spend all their money-"

"Ugh, fine, we won't watch a chick flick, but I still get to pick!"

After a few minutes of deciding, she eventually landed on Tangled. I feel no shame in saying that this is probably one of the best Disney movies ever made. See, if anyone ever makes fun of me for liking a princess movie, I simply ask if they've seen it. If not, all I have to do is somehow find a way to make them watch it, and then their life gets turned around over the course of one hundred minutes. Trust me, princess movies will never be the same after this one.

Xion sighed and rested her head on my shoulder when it got to the lantern scene with Rapunzel and Flynn on the boat. Axel, who was sitting on the other side of me, thought it would be funny to imitate her by sighing girlishly and resting his head on my shoulder as well. I pretty much burst out laughing at that point, completely ruining the whole fluffy moment of the movie. Axel snickered as well, but Xion seemed a little less than impressed.

"Ugh, I am never watching a movie with you guys again!" she huffed, crossing her arms.

As the film's credits started rolling, I glanced over and found myself in giggles at the sight of Axel wiping a tear from his eye.

"Sh-Shut up, man!" he stuttered. "Movies make me emotional, and that part when he cut her hair was just too much!"

"Yeah, but it's a Disney movie! The sad things always get resolved!"

"Um, Fox and the Hound ring a bell?"

Well… damn, okay he got me there, but _most_ Disney movies have a happy ending, followed by a crappy sequel! Still, the point of all of that was that Axel was crying and it was funny! I know I said that Tangled is the game changer for princess movies, but he just cried over a freaking princess movie! Heh, I better not push this any further or he's gonna find some way to get me back.

"So I guess you don't take girls out to the movies often," Xion chuckled, though she had been a little teary-eyed as well.

"Not if it's a movie that has any potential to be sad," he said truthfully. "That way we can still bang it out later."

Xion and I groaned at his lack of sensitivity. And to think that he was just crying about a princess movie, like, a minute ago, but still doesn't have the decency to have an actual relationship with a girl. What's the word I'm looking for; player? No that sounds like a good thing… Oh, that's right, he's a manwhore!

"Oh, geez, when did it become two a.m.?!" Xion exclaimed when she checked her phone.

"Whoa, I didn't realize it was that late," I said. "You need a lift home, Xion?"

"Uh, if it's no trouble."

"Not at all!"

"Such a gentleman, bro," Axel cackled. Actually, Axel, it's quite the gentlemanly act; you could learn something from me!

He walked us to the front door before we parted ways. Xion's house was only about a ten-minute walk away, but she would've had to cut through a forest trail, so I don't blame her for wanting a ride.

"So," she said after a couple moments of silence, "you and Naminé, huh?"

I sighed, but didn't feel like making a big argument out of it. "We're not a couple, but what about us?"

I was keeping my eyes on the road, but I could tell that she was looking over at me. "Are you… are you planning on asking her out?"

I inhaled sharply as the words left her mouth. The idea of dating Naminé had replayed itself numerous times in my mind, but the actual thought of asking her out had never really occurred to me. Wait, what am I saying?! It never occurred to me because I wasn't planning on asking her out! We're just friends, and the idea of dating her is just that: an idea! She and I as a couple is a simple hypothetical and nothing more! Well, at least I think it is…

"I…" I started, trying to piece the words together, "I don't think so… at least not anytime in the foreseeable future. She's a good friend and all, but I don't wanna rush into things, especially if I don't even know if I like her like that. It hasn't been enough time to tell, y'know?" Oh god, don't start talking like Rai.

"Yeah, that's smart," she replied, breathing out what sounded like a breath she'd been holding. Why would she be holding her breath?

"What about you and this… Twilight Town guy?"

"O-Oh, uh, I dunno, I don't know if he likes me like that at all. We're friends, but that's about all I can say right now…"

"Heh, sounds like you should find out if there's something more, yeah? Maybe you should take him out sometime. Well, I mean I guess if he's in Twilight Town it's not the simplest thing to just meet up, but maybe if he's ever here you could figure something out."

"Yeah… Yeah! I'm sure I can figure something out," she said offhandedly. "You should try out your own advice too. Maybe Naminé wants to go somewhere? I dunno, if she's not the girl you want to date, then maybe just date around for a bit until you find a girl you really connect with."

"Heh, you mean like what Axel does?"

"Heehee, I guess you could put it that way, but maybe hold off on all the dirty stuff!"

We both chuckled for the last bit of the car ride together as I pulled onto her street. Lucky for me, her house is somewhat on the way to mine, so I wouldn't have to backtrack to get to mine or anything. Actually, she's probably not a long walk away from my house. I probably could've figured that out since we walked from the school to Axel's on that day I met the Organization, and I only live ten minutes away from the school. Ugh, too much math for two in the morning. Damn, that reminds me, I still have to do the homework Mr. the Wise assigned us…

"Thanks for the ride, Roxas," said Xion, unbuckling her seatbelt once we pulled into her driveway. "See you Monday?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then. G'night."

She smiled and stepped out of the car. I waited until she unlocked her front door before driving away. No sense in leaving her stranded in case she couldn't get it open, right?

I started thinking about some of the things she said as I drove to my house. I still wish she'd told us the name of that guy. In truth, there are probably too many people in Twilight Town for me to actually know who he is, but it's a possibility. Some of the other things she said made me wonder about my own relationship though. Did I want to date Naminé, or was I really just looking for a girl in general? Hell, I hadn't even realized I'd been looking for a girl! I don't think I was, but maybe I'd been looking subconsciously. It isn't like these things usually happen on purpose. Still, maybe Xion was right about taking girls out on dates. I should probably start with Naminé at the very least. Heh, I could invite her to watch Tangled with me.

Who knows? Maybe something could blossom. I may not be sure if I like her or not, but if something good can come out of this, then I'm willing to give it a shot.

Now I just have to figure out how to ask her…

* * *

I'm never really sure how to end these chapters, so I apologize if they seem abrupt. My ideas for this one were kind of jumping all over the place, so please excuse the randomness of events :P. By the way, I didn't give Tangled all that praise for nothing; it really is an amazing movie. Yeah, I'm an eighteen-year-old guy, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable.

Anyway, please leave me a review! Once my exams are over I should have more time to write, so I will be able to, hopefully, improve the quality of this story (admittedly, this story isn't one of my finer works…). I know some things might be getting confusing because there are a lot of unanswered questions (Organization XIII, what Xigbar dropped, Sora's involvement in all of this, etc.), but this is intentional. I'm not actually sure when the answers to these questions are going to be revealed, but I'm hoping that when they do your minds will explode :P

So, yeah, thanks for reading!

_-GengaJupite_


	9. Red face and ham nipples

Hey, everybody! Sorry it took me longer to get this posted, but I was studying like crazy for the past little while. I start working on May 1st, but I think I should be able to get chapters done on schedule. It's a little easier to do stuff when you don't have to worry about studying and homework.

Thanks to **X-blade025** for reviewing! Tangled isn't actually my favourite Disney movie, I had just watched it recently so I figured it would be easy to write about :P. I don't actually know what my favourite is but if I had to pick one, I'd say Hercules. Like I said, the incident is part of the mystery that's all gonna come together at some point (still not sure when); it actually might be revealed a little sooner than the other things. As for Xion, I wasn't really intending for her to be discreet, and I guess Roxas is one of those clueless idiots right now :P

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Red face and ham nipples_

It had been a few weeks since I spent that day with Naminé, Axel, and Xion. Despite how eager I may have seemed about asking Naminé out on a date before, I could never work up the nerve to actually do it. I mean, asking her to hang out and stuff is no problem, but somehow the idea of asking her to _go_ out is so much more nerve-wracking! I've gone on dates before, but asking all of those girls had never seemed as intense as asking Nam. Then again, I hadn't been as close with any of them as I am with her.

Right now, we were running laps around the track in PE. I felt a bit out of place because everyone else in the class is wearing some kind of sweatpants or a jacket while I'm just running around in shorts and a tank top. Honestly, the autumn weather in Destiny Islands feels exactly the same as the summer weather to me. I guess when you spend all the cold months in a town that actually has weather patterns other than sunny, muggy, and sweltering heat, you don't really notice the mild differences in temperature here.

"Roxas," someone said from beside me.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Zexion. What's up?"

"Superior would like to speak with you today. Lunch period."

"Uh, okay, but I think I have to do something with Ven first, so-"

"It will only be for a moment, then you can do as you please."

"I guess if it won't take long… Hey, um, where do you guys actually hang out?"

"There's a small building by the parking lot across the street. I'll get Xion to show you."

"'Kay, thanks…"

With that, he nodded and ran off ahead. It's funny that I've been 'inducted' into their group but am only now finding out where they go on their free time. I mean, it's been almost a month, you'd think they would've asked me to go with them by now. Sometimes I see Axel, Xion, and Demyx walking around, but usually they're all in their own places. At least this means I'm not on bad terms with them, unless Xemnas is gonna tell me that I'm kicked out of the Organization or something.

"Hey, Roxas, you ready for today's CoCK?" Ven asked when he caught up to me.

"Oh, god, only if you don't call it that anymore…" I thought they were embarrassed when I told them that that's what the abbreviation was.

"Heh, we're embracing it now! After it catches on, everyone is gonna want a piece of our CoCK!"

"Seriously, are you saying stuff like that on purpose or are you really that oblivious?"

"What are you talking about? All I said is that people want the CoCK."

"…We're done talking about this. Besides, I'm gonna be a few minutes late, I've gotta take care of something at the beginning of lunch."

"Oh, are you finally gonna grow a pair and ask out Naminé?" he jeered. So you wanna play it that way, eh, Ven?

He knew about my plan to ask her out on a date. Word travels pretty fast when you have a network of friends that tend to gossip. I'm just glad Nam hadn't caught wind of my plan. That or she was pretending she didn't know, but knowing her she'd probably blush nonstop around me if she were aware. It was utter torment when Selphie and Rikku found out though. Man, I've never met such persistent girls in all my life! I thought they were just teasing before, but after nearly a month of them vying for my attention, I can say that I must be their new eye candy or something…

"Well, when are you gonna grow a pair and ask out Aqua?" I retaliated triumphantly. His cheeks flushed and he turned away from me to look ahead. Yes! That's right; eat that, hypocrite!

"I'm working on it," he mumbled.

"Really? How's that going for you?" I continued. Now, it may seem like I'm being annoying, but Ven's been rushing me to ask out Naminé ever since he found out about my plan. Honestly, I still don't know if I like her like that! Maybe I should go on a test date with someone else…

"Shut up, Roxas!" he chuckled and shoved me a bit. "It'll happen when I want it to. I'm in control, man!"

"Well, you can take your time," I laughed and shoved him back. "I made a bet with Wakka and Riku that out of you and Aqua, Tidus and Yuna, and Sora and Kairi, you would be the last ones to start dating."

"You frickin' asshole," he returned. "I guess Wakka bet on Tidus and Riku bet on Sora?"

"Yep, but they didn't feel like gambling as much munny as I did. Looks like no one's on your side, bro."

"Grr, I'm gonna make sure you or Riku loses today's challenge so hard…"

"I wouldn't count on it," I said with a smirk. "It's Riku's pick today, and I think he's gonna choose something that you or Sora can't possibly win at. You may just luck out because I think he's still pissed off with Sora over the whole getting pantsed incident."

"Fine, but when it's my pick, you two better watch out," he grumbled.

"Maybe you should worry about today a little more," I chuckled. It's funny, but for the first time, I was actually looking forward to the stupid challenge we had planned for today.

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Once the lunch bell rang, Sora and I quickly made our way out of the math classroom, both for our own reasons. Ever since I'd started hanging out with Naminé, I haven't been able to act the same around Mr. the Wise, and I'm really hoping that this first semester goes by quickly so that I don't have to keep seeing him every day. As for Sora, well, he just doesn't like math…

"Hurry up with your thing!" Sora called as I headed off to my locker. I just waved him off and kept my regular walking pace.

As I had expected, Xion was already waiting for me when my locker was in sight.

"Hey," she said happily, "so you're actually gonna hang out with us today?"

"Heh, if you wanted me to, maybe you should've told me where you guys actually go!" I chuckled. "I never would've guessed some random building by the parking lot!"

"Heehee, well, you never asked!" she retorted, though even she realized what a weak excuse that was.

Once I had all my stuff, we made our way to the side entrance to the school. I've never actually had to go this way before, so the area was pretty foreign to me. A regular-sized parking lot sat across the street, surrounded by a few buildings without any signs on them. They almost looked like warehouses, but I can't imagine why there would be warehouses around this area, especially since there aren't any stores around here.

"So," I said as we waited for some cars to pass by, "what do you think this is about?"

"Beats me," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe it has something to do with the Halloween dance. Oh, maybe he's gonna give you a fundraising assignment!"

"Ugh, I didn't exactly sign up for this…" I groaned. I don't mean to come off as lazy or anything, but extra curricular stuff isn't exactly my cup of tea. "What do you guys usually do to fundraise?" Please say something easy, please say something easy, please say something easy…

"Ehehe, to be honest, they've never given me one yet, so I don't actually know," she chuckled sheepishly, stepping off the curb to cross the street. "But Xemnas said he wanted to talk to me too, so maybe we'll get to be partners for this!"

"Oh, good, that means I can make you do most of the work," I laughed.

"That's not gonna work so well," she giggled, pinching my arm.

"Yeah? And why's that?" I asked smugly.

"Because I was planning on making _you_ do most of the work!"

"Haha, unless they find a way to make sleeping a form of raising funds, you're gonna be doing most of the work, Xion."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"I'll beat you up, Roxas! And you can't fight back because you can't hit a girl!"

"Perfect, I guess I can hit you then."

"You dickhead!" she gasped, releasing a flurry of weak punches to my shoulder while I laughed maniacally.

Apparently neither of us realized that we were still in the middle of the street, so we both jumped a bit when a car came screeching to a halt and honked its horn at us. Still laughing, we both ran to the other side of the street. Taking a moment to catch our breath near a tree, Xion began wailing some more punches on me, which wasn't exactly helping us get rid of our giggles.

"Tell me I'm a girl! A pretty girl!" she said with as much fake anger as she could muster.

"Ahaha… I'll never surrender!" I joked back. "I can use anything as a weapon of self defense!"

I didn't really have the opportunity to look around, so I fumbled my hand behind me until I got a hold of something. Allowing a triumphant grin to cross my lips, I swung the thing out in front of me to block her next swing.

"Roxas, that's a stick," she giggled. "Didn't you say you were a weapons master or something?"

"I'm improvising!" I laughed, using the flimsy, pathetic piece of wood to create a gap between the two of us.

"Whatever, but now you do have to do most of the work since you won't apologize!" she laughed, starting towards the entrance to one of the warehouse-looking buildings.

Once we got inside, well, I'm not sure what there is to really say about the inside. We were in some sort of sitting room with some basic furniture. It was comfortable enough, but I'm not really sure why the Organization would choose to hang out here of all places. Then again, the only ones actually in here are Lexaeus and Xaldin.

"What do you need?" Lexaeus grunted.

"Uh, Xemnas wanted to speak with us," Xion said timidly; I can't say I blame her.

Xaldin nodded his head to a door on the other side of the room. We hurried over to the door and fumbled with the doorknob before entering. Once inside, I could see that we still weren't in the big warehouse section of the building. It looked more like a little conference room, and all the other members were seated around the table, Xemnas at the head.

"Ah, Roxas, Xion, you have arrived," he said in that unnervingly cool tone of his.

"Um, you wanted to speak to us?" I stammered; something about having all of them watching us makes me feel uneasy.

"Yes, I have an assignment for you," he said, standing to retrieve something from his bag. "As you know, we need to start raising funds for some of the events the school has given to us."

We both glanced at each other, and Xion gave me a slight smirk that read something like "See? I told you that's what he wanted."

"What do we need to do?" I asked, praying that it wouldn't be something painfully boring or stupid. I would hate to go door-to-door asking for donations…

"Nothing difficult," he responded quickly, sliding a small pouch down the long table. "All you need to do is deliver this to one of our colleagues. He will pay you in exchange for it."

"What's in the bag?" Xion asked.

She started to loosen the string, but Xigbar quickly snatched her wrist. "Ah, ah, ah, missy, no peeking allowed. Let's just say this is the replacement for what Roxas' idiot brother cost us."

"Cost you?" I asked, shifting my eyes between Xigbar and the pouch.

"Heh, looks like the kid doesn't even remember," he chuckled sneeringly. "That party at The Lounge a month ago. Remember when I told you he made me drop something valuable? Yeah, it took us a long time to replace that, and it wasn't for us. We're lucky our guy still wants this after waiting for such a long time."

Right, that was quite some time ago, and I hadn't really been speaking with the Organization much lately; not because we were having problems, but because nothing of great importance had really been coming up. The only ones I had been talking to were Axel, Xion, and occasionally Demyx. Still, if this thing was the replacement… wasn't that thing worth, like, two hundred munny or something?

"Whoa, you want us to walk around with something worth that much?" I asked skeptically. "Shouldn't someone a little more experienced be handling something like that?"

"Believe it or not," Xemnas responded, "this is actually one of our lesser transactions. But if you are feeling uncomfortable, perhaps I could get someone else to handle the finances. Number VIII?"

Who was that again? Oh, right, Axel. Everyone glanced at him, and I was surprised that he looked rather unenthused and uncomfortable instead of his usual chipper self. His arms were crossed and his head was tilted downwards somewhat, as if he were trying to block everyone out. Maybe he just doesn't like these meeting things. Whatever the case, he responded after a few moments of tense silence.

"Yeah, sure, I'll help the kids out," he said quickly, not a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"My thanks," Xemnas concluded, nodding towards us. Sheesh, why is he so formal? "There, Axel will accompany you on this assignment. If that is all you need, then be on your way. You are to meet with our colleague tomorrow after school."

"Who's this person we're supposed to meet?" I asked before carefully dropping the pouch in my backpack.

No one said anything for a moment, and I easily noticed all of them shifting their gazes to and from each other. This was getting really weird. Just what is in this pouch? I mean, I guess it makes sense that since Xion and I are such low-ranking members that they wouldn't indulge all of their secrets with us, but I feel like I'm being kept out of something. Now there's a feeling I'm getting used to…

"Don't worry about it," Axel answered in his plain tone. "I know the guy we're meeting. You just concentrate on holding onto that and I'll meet up with you two tomorrow."

Xion and I both gave him a weird glance, but shrugged it off and exited the room like we were expected to. If something weird was going on, we could always weasel an answer out of Axel. It didn't look like he was completely happy about us getting an assignment. Either that or he was just in a bad mood, but I don't think I've ever seen Axel get legitimately angry or upset. We both silently made our way back to the school, pondering what we were getting ourselves into.

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I was surprised to see Naminé already sitting with my friends in their usual spot. Most of the time I have to go get her from the art room, but little by little she's been breaking out of her shell a bit more. I almost feel like a proud parent, if not for the fact that she's a few months older than I am. She smiled brightly and waved as she noticed Xion and I approaching. Ven, Sora, Riku, and Terra all gave me huge smirks, knowing that she only ever seemed to reserve her biggest smiles for me. I just waved back, trying not to feel too embarrassed by their expressions.

"All right," Riku chuckled, "now that Roxas is here, we can start this thing."

"Start what thing, Riku?" Sora inquired knowingly.

"…I'm not gonna say it, you idiot."

"But, Riku, we're supposed to be embracing the name!"

"No."

"Sheesh, toooouuuchy," he whined before turning to me. "You ready for today's CoCK, Roxas?"

Naminé and Xion, unaware of our competition, both glanced at each other and burst out laughing. All I could do was slap my palm to my forehead and groan. The only nice thing I can say is that I commend their enthusiasm, but the guys really need to change the freaking name for this! I'm just glad Riku's on my side…

"Heehee, w-what is… hehe… C-Co-hahahaha!" Xion couldn't even finish her sentence. I grumbled and slumped down between her and Naminé, hoping that my action might somehow break their laughing fit. It didn't really. Well, at least Nam looks like she's calming down a bit.

"Teehee, R-Roxas, I thought… haha… I th-thought you l-liked girls," the blonde managed to stammer out between her giggles.

"It's not what you think," I sighed, shaking my head. "It's this stupid competition that we do every week. They didn't realize that Challenge of Champions Kickstarter abbreviates to CoCK, but instead of being embarrassed and changing the name, LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE MIGHT DO, they've decided they're going to embrace the name…"

"O-oh," she tried to stifle her giggles as best she could, "well then good luck. I-I wouldn't want you t-to lose t-today's… heehee… today's CoCK!"

Well, she and Xion may be making fun of me, but at least Naminé seems more comfortable around people. Like I said, I'm in proud parent mode, so my pride overrides my embarrassment! Pride as in being proud of Naminé, not like gay pride because of the homosexual connotation associated with the title of our competition… I'll stop talking now…

"Let's just get this over with," Riku sighed. "I don't want to deal with this stupid name for too long. Anyway, for today's challenge, I've picked…" Cue drumroll as he takes an extensive dramatic pause. "Heh, well, I need you guys to huddle in. The others can't hear this one."

Those who weren't participating groaned in annoyance. I'm not so sure if I'm excited now because it probably involves the others. I still don't know how Riku's thoughts work exactly, so I have no idea what to expect. Then again, if he's anything like me, which he's proven to be on quite a few occasions, he'll probably pick something that'll sabotage one of us.

"Okay," he muttered once the five of us were huddled closely together, "first one to get four dates wins; obviously, the last person loses. It has to be a one-on-one date, and you have to take out four _different_ girls for each one to count. Oh, sorry, Terra, you can ask out guys if you want."

"Shut up, asshole!" The burly guy shoved Riku while the rest of us chuckled quietly. I could feel the eyes of the others piercing into our backs as they tried to hear what we were saying.

"Oh, and it doesn't matter if we take out the same girls, it just has to be four different girls for each of us individually. Everyone got it?"

We all nodded, but I wasn't feeling too uncomfortable with this. No homo, but we all know that Riku's the best-looking guy out of the five of us, so he probably picked this knowing that he'll easily place first in this one. Y'know, just from knowing Terra and Ven, I would have thought they'd be a little more cocky about this, but both of them look pretty unsure of themselves. Sora, well, I'm assuming he thinks he's gonna lose. Heh, well, just be cool, Roxas, and you won't be last!

"I'll do the countdown, then," Riku began, and I could feel my heartbeat quicken. "Three…" Calm down, Roxas, you've got this. "Two…" You know which girls you're going for already. "One…" Only one of them matters anyway. "Go!"

Unlike most of our other challenges, none of us were quick to rush off this time. It makes sense since we can't really look desperate or anything. Alright, I know my four. I'll start with the easy dates because they won't really mean anything. If anything I'll just call them friendly get-togethers, and leave it at that. Yeah, Riku didn't say that the girls had to know we were taking them on dates, so I'll pretend like we're just hanging out! Damn, I'm good!

"Hey, Selphie," I said, walking up to the bubbly brunette.

"Eep! Uh, hi, Roxas!" she squealed a bit. Heh, I guess she's usually the one who instigates any conversations between us. "W-What's up?"

"Oh, uh, nothing really. Just wondering if you had any plans for Wednesday."

The expression on her face was priceless. It literally went from super bubbly and dropped to as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. I had to forcibly concentrate on not laughing, and I'm sure my face contorted into some kind of messed up grin.

"Y-You want to… go out with m-me?" she squeaked, pointing a shaky finger at herself.

"Uh, yeah, we'll just go to that café or something," I said as naturally as I could, shrugging for added regularity. "I mean, if you don't want to, then that's fi-"

"YES, OH EM GEE I'VE GOT TO TEXT EVERYONE!" she squealed and ran off. Why she had to run off to text people was beyond me, but I just chuckled and moved on. Aw yeah, one down, three to go!

"Done!" I heard Riku yell from a short distance away. What the hell, man?! I know you're supposedly some mega stud, but did you even have to ask, or did those girls just say yes before you even asked them?! Geez, I better get a move on! Next stop, Rikku.

"Eep! Uh, hi, Roxas!" Whoa, that was… identical to what Selphie just did…

"Hey, so I was wondering if Thursday-"

"I'm free! See you then!" she squealed before I could even finish my sentence. Wow, she sure doesn't mess around. I'm kinda nervous for how this date might go…

Okay, that's for the two I knew would say yes, now for the more difficult approaches. I think I'll start with Xion. As long as she doesn't think I'm asking her out on a date, it should be relatively straightforward.

"Heh, what are you guys up to?" Xion asked as I walked up to her. Figures she'd be smart enough to catch on.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Well, as soon as you finished in your little huddle, all five of you went off and started talking to random girls. Riku and Sora both asked me to hang out sometime, and it isn't like I don't hang out with them, but usually we don't outside of school unless we're in a group."

"Hehe, um," I paused, trying to think of a way to work around her suspicions, "I can't say exactly what we're doing, but I dunno what they're up to. Anyway, now I feel weird asking, but I wanted to see what you were up to this Friday. Since we have it off, I thought maybe you and I could maybe go do something."

"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happened to your whole Naminé thing?"

"What, a guy can't hang out with all his close female friends?" I laughed. Luckily that was a relatively good comeback. "Besides, I'll probably end up seeing her on Saturday or something, so I figured that it'd be fun if, y'know, we hung out too."

"Yeah," she said, smiling warmly. "Should I ask Axel to come?"

"Uh, nah, he's probably gonna be with Larxene," I said, shuddering at the thought. Actually we both had a little moment to grimace at the idea.

"Mm, okay! I guess we haven't hung out just us two yet!" she agreed enthusiastically. I internally cheered; that went quite a bit smoother than expected. I knew she would probably question it somewhat, but that's just because I know her well enough now.

I was afraid that it might be a bit difficult to slip away from Xion after asking her out, but lucky for me, Ven had the same idea, so I stealthily crept away while they started talking. Alright, now that I've gotten the three friendly dates out of the way, it's time to move onto the one that actually counts. There she is, sitting with Kairi. Oh, geez, I don't think I've ever felt so nervous approaching Naminé before. Does my hair look good? Pfft, when does it not. Wow, she looks… awfully pretty today.

"H-Hey, Naminé," I said shakily, gulping as I sat down beside her.

"Hey, Roxas," she said, smiling that Roxas-reserved smile of hers, "what's up?"

"I, uh, hehe, well, not much really," I said, mentally kicking myself for sounding so stupid. Seriously, why can't I just pretend like I'm asking her out for a friendly date even though it'll be a real one?! Ugh, stupid teenage hormones!

"Um, okay…" she said skeptically. Kairi giggled and turned the other way when Sora sat down beside her. Heh, she must know what's going on. Focus, Roxas.

"Sorry, I just… I was wondering…" Oh god, why does this have to be so difficult! Come on; pull yourself together, Roxas! You just asked out three other girls, why is asking Naminé any different? Is it because I like her? Agh, I really wish I knew! Why is this so inconclusive?! I either do or I don't; why can't I decide?!

"Um, are you okay, Roxas?" she asked, lightly brushing my hand with hers. "You look a little nervous and your hand is shaking."

"N-No, it's nothing," I lied poorly. "I was just wondering if… y'know, maybe if you're not busy… that is, i-if you wanted to…"

"Roxas?"

Okay, Roxas, stop dicking around and just say it! "Ifyouaren'tbusyonSaturdaydoyouwannagooutonadatewi thme?!"

I had no reason to be, but I was panting for air as the last syllable escaped my lips. I felt like my heart was going to explode from the sheer anxiety I'd been causing it.

"Um, sorry? I didn't catch that," she said, though her cheeks were flushed, which meant that she must have heard part of it.

Taking a deep breath, I slowed my speaking rate, hoping that my own reddened cheeks weren't too noticeable. "I was just thinking, if you aren't busy, that we could go somewhere on Saturday."

"Oh, um," she said, the blush becoming more apparent on her cheeks, "I'm sure I can. It's just the way you said it the first time… Well, I thought you said you wanted to take me out on a… on a _date_."

I froze up at her words. Oh crap, what do I do now? I mean, I do want to take her on a date, but I don't want her feeling uncomfortable with that idea. Should I say that I messed up my words? But what if she gets offended because she thought I wanted to but now I say I didn't mean to say that? Gah, decisions, decisions. You can never go wrong with the truth, right? But then I could also say that what she doesn't know won't hurt her. Contradicting pieces of advice, why must you torment me so?!

"M-Maybe I just heard you wrong…" she said, slightly turning away from me.

"No!" I exclaimed impulsively. Great, guess I'm telling her the truth… I never thought that would sound so bad… "I, uh, I did say that the first time."

"O-Oh," was all she managed to stutter out, turning her sights back on me.

"I-I was… afraid I was being a bit too forward though," I said, smiling to both comfort her and because that was a viable excuse, "so I thought maybe I should leave it out the second time. I-If the idea makes you uncomfortable, we can always just treat it like how we normally hang out."

She looked down at her hands and fumbled with the base of her shirt. Dammit, Roxas, the one girl that you were actually supposed to get a real date from, and you go and screw it up! I'm the worst person ever… Now she'll probably feel awkward every time I'm around her. Way to go, me, I just polarized my best friend…

"I… don't know if I'll call it a date," she mumbled after a moment, "but we can do whatever you had planned."

Phew, that went well. Sure, it could've gone better, but it also could've gone a lot worse. I should make sure to remember that Naminé is delicate like a flower. One wrong move and all her petals fall off and she wilts away… Okay, that was a terrible analogy, but it sounded better when I just said delicate like a flower.

"Great!" I said cheerily. "Hehe, sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Nam. I, um… well, thanks for understanding."

"Don't worry about it," she said, shaking her head a bit and turning back to me with a soft smile. "Besides, I like spending time with you."

"I like spending time with me too," I joked.

"Heehee, don't push your luck, mister!" she giggled back.

"Oh," I said, remembering something. I turned to where Riku was standing and cupped my hands so I could shout at him. "Hey, Riku! Done!" He gave me a quick thumbs-up and went back to whatever he was doing.

"What was that about?" Naminé asked confusedly.

"Done!" Sora shouted before I could respond. Wow, I thought he was gonna be last! Heh, now it's just down to Terra and Ven. Who's it gonna be…

"Boom, done!" Terra laughed.

"Dammit!" Ven growled, stamping his foot on the ground. He always has been a sore loser.

"Oh, sucks for you, Ven," Riku laughed loudly, "I was planning on Sora losing, but I guess this is still just as embarrassing for anyone!"

"Ugh, let's just get this over with," he said in an annoyed tone. Everyone in our group had their eyes glued on him and Riku to see what would happen.

"Okay, if you say so," Riku sneered. "Pass me your shirt."

Ven sighed, stripped his shirt off and tossed it over to Riku. I find it funny how all those girls kept saying he was fat, because he honestly has the exact same build as I do. I mean, we usually go to the gym together, so I'm pretty sure that would make our workouts the same. Heh, but if people make fun of him and not me, then I have no qualms about it.

"So what happens now- WHAT THE HELL?!" Ven shouted as Riku slapped some ham slices onto his nipples. Immediately everyone roared in laughter at the sight of Ven's new meat bra. "How the crap are these sticking?!"

"Mustard, buddy," Riku laughed, "now go ask out Aqua!"

"Not so loud, dumbass!"

"Heh, why not? You have to do what I say, so she's gonna know anyway! Here, I'll help you out. Hey, Aqua! Ven has something to ask you!"

"I'm gonna kill you," Ven growled, but no one was taking him seriously with his red face and ham nipples.

"Heehee, R-Roxas, what's g-going on?!" Naminé giggled beside me. I had nearly forgotten that she didn't know the rules of the competition.

"Haha, oh, well, since Ven lost the contest, he has to do whatever Riku tells him since he won."

"Ahaha… what… hehe… what was the contest?"

"I'll tell you about it later," I said, grinning widely at her.

"But I know it had something to do with talking to girls! When will you tell me?" she complained, nudging me with her elbow.

"How about," I stopped to look upwards, smirked, and turned back to her with a devilish grin, "I tell you on our date?"

And just as expected, her cheeks burned bright red, and she turned back to nervously laugh at the sight of Ven making a fool out of himself in front of Aqua. Aw yeah, I am good.

* * *

It's a shorter chapter than I would have liked to write, but I figured that this would be a good spot to end it. I don't know how this story comes off to you guys, but I apologize if the double plotline is kind of confusing. By that I mean there's the whole deal with Organization XIII but there's also Roxas building his relationship with Naminé. The best way for me to explain this would be through the actual title of the story (cheesy, but it's necessary). The love part is obviously the relationship between Roxas and Naminé, and the war part pertains to the rivalry between Ven and the Organization. It's a gradual convergence, but these two plots will intertwine at some point in the future.

Anyway, I'm content with how this chapter went. I won't say it's been my favourite to write, but I did enjoy doing this one. Also, I love dirty humour, so I can't say that the dirty jokes will end here. Hopefully no one was offended or grossed out :P

Please review! I like getting more than one per chapter :)

_-GengaJupite_


	10. Amazing, fantastic, beautiful, kissable

Ah, I'm starting to get behind on these updates! Well, not actually but I keep thinking that I'm not getting them up in time. I don't think anyone has minded so far, but I'll try to keep a steady schedule going! Hopefully I'll be able to figure something out once I actually start working.

In other news in the not-so-exciting life of GengaJupite, Distant Worlds was absolutely amazing! I'm sure some of you must be Final Fantasy fans, so if you ever get the chance to go to a Distant Worlds concert, do it! Dooooo iiiiit! The only thing that would've made the concert better was if Uematsu had been there this time, but perhaps he will be next time.

Anyway, thanks for your reviews!

**Anon: **I'm honoured that you think highly of this fic! I was actually worried since I consider this one of my lesser fics, but if you're enjoying it, then I'll try my best to keep it going strong! Don't worry about not reviewing; as long as multiple Anons don't start reviewing, I'll be happy to hear from you if you decide to keep leaving me your quality thoughts :)

**X-blade025: **Naminé's date is actually supposed to be a real date date. Roxas was using the competition as a chance to actually ask her out while the other three girls were just people he was choosing to finish competing. As for Organization XIII, I can't say what Xemnas was being so mysterious about, but I'm betting that it probably isn't as creative as you think. That doesn't mean you were right (or maybe you were ;)), just that you might be expecting something more from what will eventually be revealed.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Amazing, fantastic, beautiful, kissable…_

"Roxas?"

"Huh, oh, sorry, Xion, I kinda zoned out there. Did you say something?"

"Heehee, I didn't think you'd be so engrossed in history class. But yeah, I asked if you still had the, uh… the thingy for today."

"Thingy… Oh, you mean the pouch! Yeah it's in my locker!"

"M'kay, I guess I'll meet you and Axel there after I go to mine so that we can go find that guy!"

I nodded and turned back to my notebook. It's kind of funny that I hadn't realized what Xion had said to me, given that I had been thinking about this package we were supposed to be delivering to some guy that none of the Organization members wanted to mention. Yesterday had gone by so quickly after lunch that I hardly realized that our 'assignment' was to meet up with this guy today. Well, I was also thinking about my dates that I'd stupidly organized for the next four days in a row. Any person in their right mind would have at least given themselves a day between some of them, but not me apparently…

To be honest, I was actually worrying more about those dates than I was about this sketchy meeting after school. I mean, I've hardly actually talked to Selphie or Rikku, so those dates could turn out pretty awkward. Then again, they both tend to do most of the talking so maybe I can just sit there, nod, and smile. I won't let them know that I was only taking them out because of the competition. That would probably be worse than not taking them on a second date. Actually, they could wind up upset with me either way. Gah, maybe I should've taken out Aqua and Kairi instead. No, Ven, Terra, and Sora would kill me if I did that. I suppose I did the smartest thing by asking out Selphie and Rikku, but I think the odds are still stacked against me.

Xion, on the other hand, should be relatively easy to please. We can just go to the mall or the market street or something. I'm not trying to assume she loves shopping or anything, but girls usually like going to those places, right? Whatever, it'll just be like hanging out with her! It's not like I never hung out with close female friends back in Twilight Town. Olette and I used to go for ice cream when Hayner and Pence were busy with other things, so this should be no different! Actually, yeah, I'll take her to get ice cream!

As for Naminé… I really want to do something special for her. I mean, she's the only one that I legitimately would like to go on an actual date with. I know she said that calling it a date made her uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything about it feel like one! I'm no dating expert though… What do people do on dates? Restaurant, movies… that's all I can think of and those are super cliché. Like, romantic comedy cliché. Hmm, I guess it's good that I'm taking her out last because the first three dates can be sort of like test runs! Whew, this turned out a lot better than I was expecting.

"Hey, Roxas, stop zoning out!" Xion laughed while snapping her fingers right in front of my face. "The bell just went and you're the only one who hasn't packed up or left!"

"Huh?" I asked dumbly, shaking my head as I processed her words. Sheesh, I knew I wasn't paying attention to the lesson, but how did I manage to miss the bell? "Heh, sorry, Xion. My head's kind of all over the place today."

"Heehee, well then keep it together now that you know!" she laughed again, knocking on my head a couple times.

I quickly packed up my things and followed her out of the room. Wow, even Aqua beat us out, and she's obligated to stay a bit later since she's a peer tutor… How long was I sitting there with glazed eyes?! Did Xion just let me sit there like a statue? Whatever, it isn't that important.

"Hey, Axel," I greeted him once I'd gotten to my locker.

"Sup, Roxas?" he said back, though his mind seemed to be on something else.

"So where are we supposed to be meeting this guy?" I asked him, carefully dropping the pouch in my bag and switching out the books that I needed.

"Out by the basketball court," he answered flatly. He seemed pretty unlike himself right now. I wonder if everything's alright.

"Uh, Axel," I added cautiously, "are you okay? You seem sort of… unhappy or something." That wasn't exactly the word I was looking for, but he didn't seem mad or upset so that was the closest thing I could come up with.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he exhaled, glancing at me with a little smirk. "Let's just get this over quickly so we can go chill. You're free today, right?"

"Oh, um, yeah," I answered in slight surprise. "Did you have something in mind?"

"Maybe," he responded mischievously. Geez, Axel sure can be mysterious. He's nowhere on the same level as Xemnas in terms of his mysteriousness, but I can definitely see how they have similarities, albeit very slight ones.

"Hey, guys!" Xion said, jogging down the hall towards us. "You have the thingy, Roxas?"

"Yep," I said, patting the lump in my backpack.

We made some light conversation as we headed around to the back of the school where the basketball courts were. I guess people don't really hang around here. I would've thought there'd be a few kids shooting hoops or something; then again, it is pretty hot out today. Actually, I think I'm the only one who thinks it's hot. Everyone else is probably freezing their asses off.

"Axel," a deep voice said from around the corner. We all looked over to see… okay, seriously, what is with all the muscleheads in this place?! I mean, Terra is acceptably bulky, Lexaeus and Xaldin are pushing it a little, but this guy is just ridiculous! I'm pretty sure his biceps are thicker than my thighs! That's not to say I have fat thighs; it's just a good frame of reference…

"Higashizawa," Axel returned in the same manner. He didn't seem at all intimidated by the walking bulldozer in front of us.

"Why's there so many of you?" he asked, pushing some of the long, brown hairs out of his eerie yellow eyes. "Three chefs is an awful lot to handle one dish, you know."

What an… odd metaphor… Were we delivering powdered food or something? I wouldn't be surprised if we were delivering two hundred munny's worth of protein powder now that I can see this guy. But judging from the size of the pouch we were giving him, it definitely wasn't that unless this was some super expensive powder.

"The assignment was for these two," said Axel, nudging the two of us forward. "I'm just handling finances since they're new."

"Pah, and I thought I was more deserving of some higher-ranked members," Higashizawa scoffed. "Regardless, Sho handled the munny, so I believe this is all you'll be needing."

Sensing that it was time, I reached into my bag and pulled out the pouch. In all honesty, I hadn't really been too curious about what was in it, but holding it as I handed it to the gorilla of a man was making me wonder just exactly what it contained. From the feel of the pouch, there was a jar on the inside so that I most definitely wouldn't be able to tell. I dunno if there's some kind of buyer-seller confidentiality, but it seemed like I really wasn't supposed to know what was in there. I guess it isn't a huge concern, just so long as I don't get beat up or something random like that.

"Hmph, here," Higashizawa grunted, tossing a stack of ten-munny bills to Axel. He caught it with ease and quickly counted out two hundred munny.

"Pleasure doing business with you, sir," Axel said in his usual chipper tone.

"Yeah, yeah, but next time tell me if there's gonna be more than one person meeting me. I'd hate for things to get… messy."

Now that's kind of… cryptic and intimidating. I most certainly wouldn't have been able to take this guy on in a fight and I doubt Xion would be able to pull him off of me if he had decided to attack. Why he would attack two younger and much smaller kids than himself is questionable, but I'm kind of over trying to figure out the Organization. I figure that things will get clearer as time goes on; at least, I hope they will…

With another grunt, Higashizawa turned around and disappeared around the corner of the building. Xion and I both looked at Axel curiously as he stuffed the munny in his back pocket.

"Well, now that that's over, let's get outta here!" Axel cheered before noticing us looking at him. "Uh, what's up, kiddos?"

"Um," I began, glancing at Xion for no apparent reason, "what was in the pouch, Axel?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, buddy, can't tell you that," he said while shrugging. "Organization confidentiality. The only ones who get to know what goes in these little pouches and packages we deliver are Xemnas, Xigbar, Vexen, Saïx, and Marluxia. The rest of us have a good idea, but none of us are completely sure. Xigbar's the one with the loosest tongue out of those guys, but he takes this stuff pretty seriously."

"So then what do you _suspect_ was in there?" Xion asked.

"That one specifically? Heh, no clue, I didn't handle it," he replied nonchalantly. "But between us three," he said, huddling closer to us, "I have peeked in a few of my own deliveries before. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but they've all just seemed like random delivery type things. CD drives, jewelry, soda bottles, you name any regular household item and I've probably taken it before. Heh, I'd say the strangest thing I've ever had to take was some pills, but when I saw the label they were just your regular, over-the-countertop painkillers."

I mean, I wasn't expecting some huge conspiracy or anything, but why be so secretive about what it is we're delivering if it's just normal things? I don't think I've ever felt so underwhelmed before. Then again, maybe Axel isn't given any of the more expensive deliveries. I know I'm grasping at smoke here, but I can't see why they would need to keep it such a huge secret! I mean, Axel's only number VIII, but the number system doesn't seem to represent that since Marluxia is one of the higher-ranked members despite being number XI. Ah, this is starting to hurt my head…

"You guys look like you're having some trouble trying to figure this out," Axel laughed, noting our scrunched faces deep in thought, "so what say we get out of here and forget about this?"

"You…" Xion started, causing Axel's cheery expression to drop a bit, "you aren't lying to us, are you, Axel?"

"Me? Lie to you?! Pshaw, you wound me, girlie!" Axel dramatically pretended to be hurt by her words. "Have I ever given you a reason to suspect me of lying, Xion?"

"Well… there was that one time with Demyx when-"

"Okay, that time doesn't count," he chuckled.

"And then there was the time when you cheated against Luxord at-"

"I swear I was framed! He must've put that ace under the table!"

"What about the time when Larxene-"

"Let's not talk about that time…"

"Or when Marluxia's flowers were burnt down the day you-"

"Okay, fine, so maybe I don't have the cleanest record, but do I seem like I'm lying about this? I swear I only know as much as the next speculator does!"

Though I was now quite curious as to what all those experiences were about, I had to focus on what Axel was saying. He really did seem sincere in that he didn't know much about what was going on with the Organization's weird delivery service. Besides, he was just getting in a good mood and he had wanted to hang out with me, so I didn't want to deal with him being upset.

"I believe you," I said, earning looks from both of them.

"Heh, thanks, Roxas. I'm glad that SOMEONE is on my side!" he returned, making sure that Xion noticed the emphasized 'someone'.

"Heehee, you guys are weird," Xion giggled. "Anyway, I've gotta get home. I have a bunch of stuff to do."

"Oh, I guess it's just you and me, then, Roxas," Axel said.

"Looks that way," I added. "See ya later, Xion!"

"Bye, guys!" she called as she headed off towards her house.

"Heh, and up to the art room we go!" Axel laughed, dragging me along once Xion rounded the corner.

"Wha- why are we going there?!" I responded, flustered and stumbling with my steps.

"Well where else do you think Naminé is gonna be?" he said in a cheeky manner.

"Naminé?" I repeated. "I thought you wanted to hang out with me!"

"Aw that's sweet of you to want to spend so much time with me," he jeered, earning a groan from me, "but I don't swing that way, Roxas, and you sure as hell don't either! Otherwise I wouldn't be taking you up to pretty little Naminé, now would I?"

"That's not what I meant!" I whined, trying not to trip as we sped up the stairway. "What exactly are you planning? It's not like I haven't spent some alone time with her before!"

"Yeah, but you need to get prepped for your date on Saturday, right?"

"Wait, how did you-"

"I have my ways," he answered before I could finish asking. Unless Kairi or Sora told him, no one else knew that I had asked Naminé out. I doubt either of them would have, so now I'm just getting kinda creeped out.

"Look, I'm going on three practice dates beforehand-"

"I know." …Axel, you're a creep…

"-so I think those will prep me enough by the time my date with Naminé comes around."

"Heh, you honestly have no clue what dating is like, do you, Roxas?" he chuckled. Hey, I've been on dates before! I wouldn't call myself an expert or anything, but it isn't like it's never happened! "Every girl is different, buddy. You think that taking out two super energetic girls like Selphie and Rikku is gonna be the same as taking out a timid girl like Naminé? And Xion's not really the same as her either, so I'd say you won't get the same experience with her as you would with any of those three."

"Okay, first off, how in the hell did you find out about all of this?" I demanded once we reached the top floor. "And second, I already knew that they're all different, but I just want to judge how each of the first three dates goes on a general scale so I know what sort of things work and what things don't."

"It's not that simple," he said as if he were a dating expert. "You've gotta get to know the girl you wanna take out. Selphie and Rikku are literally going to like anything you do, so it'll be hard to figure out something from them. You're probably planning on treating your date with Xion more like a friendly get-together, so that doesn't really give you a lot of things to generalize or compare to."

…I guess when he puts it that way, it's kind of true. I hadn't really thought about the fact that going on friendly dates with girls who won't react unhappily around me wouldn't leave me with any tips for how to improve. Axel may not be the brightest guy, but he does know a thing or two about dating. I won't give him the title of dating expert yet, but perhaps if he can provide me with some better info or tips.

"Well what do you propose I do, Mr. Lea?" I asked him mockingly.

"Heh, about time you start giving me some respect," he chuckled back. "Take her on a test date right now."

"Are you serious?!" I asked, noticing that the door to the art room was within sight.

"Damn right, I'm serious!" he laughed, hurrying me along. "If you want her to like you back… Oh right, sorry, you still 'don't know' if you like her or not. Man, that is such garbage, but whatever, if you want her to like you, you can't screw around with this!"

"Yeah, but… I didn't have anything planned!"

"God, Roxas, be spontaneous! You aren't expected to take her out for the night of her life right now, just do something simple! A walk by the beach or the ice cream parlour or something! Didn't you say you've dated before?"

"Alright, alright, sheesh," I waved his face away. Somehow he'd moved so that our noses were practically touching. "Man, you take my relationships more seriously than your own!"

"Heh, that's because you want a proper closed relationship, Roxy," he laughed. "You obviously don't like my style, so I'm not gonna force my better ideals on you."

Better isn't exactly the term I'd use to describe his polygamous relationships, but at least he wasn't trying to convince me that I should follow after him. I didn't even realize that we were already standing in front of the door, and Axel turned the knob, pushed the door open, and hid around the corner so he could watch me do my thing. Gee thanks, buddy…

"Hmm? Oh, hi, Roxas," Naminé said, glancing over at me as the door opened. "I thought you would've gone home by now."

"Uh, I stuck around with a few people for a bit," I said as calmly as I could, which admittedly wasn't very well done. "What are you making?"

"I'm just doing some sketches for this mural that the mayor wants done. Quistis knows him personally, and she showed him some of my artwork. It's kind of stressful, but I'm excited to have some of my own work presented publicly!"

"Wow, that's amazing, Nam!" I cheered, genuinely excited by the news. It isn't every day that someone you know has their work displayed for the public!

My phone buzzed, so I reached in to see that I had a new text.

_1 new message from: Axel Lea  
__Dude, grow a pair and do it already! Love Axel_

I shot a dirty glare out the door to see him smirking and twirling his wrist to beckon me onwards. Gimme a second, you ass! I've been in this room for maybe a minute and he's already getting impatient? Did he expect me to instantly walk in and ask her out? God, he could've noticed that she was in the middle of something!

"So, uh, Naminé," I said casually as I strode over to the seat beside her. "You aren't too busy right now, are you?" Oh wow, that sounded a little ruder than I was anticipating.

"Mm, not particularly, but I do wanna finish up this drawing," she responded, thankfully not taking notice of the rudeness in my question. "I should be done in ten minutes or so. Did you need me for something?"

"Oh, nothing urgent. I just thought maybe we could go walk around by the beach or something. I haven't been in a while, so I thought maybe we could go together if you weren't doing anything."

"Sure," she said cheerfully, running her pencil along the intricate designs of her sketch. "I love the beach in the late afternoon."

Nice, now I know one place I can take her for our actual date! Obviously not the exact same spot as we'll go today, but I have an idea. Maybe I'll take her to the boardwalk park. That sounds like a date-y type of thing, right? Yeah, this is great; keep the ideas rolling, Roxas!

_1 new message from: Axel Lea  
__Good god, that was the shakiest way to ask someone out ever! Whatever, at least you did it and now you've got an idea of what to do on your actual date. I'm gonna head out, so good luck, man!_

Well, if he'd just heard my internal monologue, then he wouldn't have to repeat what I just said. But at least he's out of my hair now; I don't think I could put up with him snooping around for much longer.

Ten minutes went by pretty quickly, and before I knew it we were already heading down the path to the beach. You know, for people who think this temperature is cold, I certainly don't seem to be the only one dressed for warm weather. I mean, yeah, this is the beach, but if people thought it was cold out, then why would they even be here? Naminé is actually dressed relatively the same way as I am. I guess she must agree that it's always warm out here.

Taking off our shoes, we walked barefoot on the sand, stopping every now and then to gaze out at the water or the boats or anything cool-looking nearby. Heh, I don't know why I'd been so nervous before, this didn't really feel all that different from hanging out with her normally! If this is anything like our date, then I'll get by no problem!

We sat down on some rocks poking out of the sand and stared out at the water. It was a comfortable silence, and there's nothing quite so relaxing as the sound of waves gently crashing on the shore. Now if only the seagulls would shut up, but I suppose it's still pleasant enough with them squawking about.

"Roxas," Naminé said after a moment.

"Yep?"

"U-Um, I was just wondering… did you actually want to take me out on a… on a d-date?"

Hearing her ask it so nervously always makes me feel… I dunno, guilty or something. I mean, I should've just asked her to hang out, but treated it as a date so that she wouldn't have felt so uncomfortable. I can understand why she's feeling the way she is because I would be the same way if, say, she had asked me on a date! I know it's not exactly the same but it's just a frame of reference. I would probably be just as taken aback as she is now, and it's understandable that, given her personality, she's still wondering why I would've done something like that.

"I… If we're being honest," I started, though I didn't really have a clue where I was going with this. "I did mean it. I just thought maybe since, y'know, we're so close and everything that it would be the same as any other time we get together. I mean, it's just a word, right?"

"I-I suppose…"

"Nam, I… I'm really sorry I made you uncomfortable. I know you're trying your best to hide your discomfort from me, but it's my fault you're feeling this way. I was stupid for asking you out like that, and I just… I don't want to think I ruined our friendship."

She didn't say anything for a moment, and I cringed at the honesty of my words. There was so much more that I wanted to apologize for, so much more that she needed to hear, but I couldn't do it now. She was already feeling weird enough about the way I'd handled things, so continuing would most definitely make things worse. She turned to look at me before finally speaking.

"I, um, don't think it's your fault Roxas. A-Any girl would be thrilled to have you ask them out," she said, and her cheeks grew that shade of pink I'd become so familiar with. "It's just… well, no one's ever asked me out before. I didn't really know how to react. I'm still kind of… shy about things…"

I sighed, the guilt still plaguing my thoughts. "Yeah, but I know that you get nervous about those types of things, Nam. I was stupid. I-"

My response was cut short as I felt her arms tightly squeeze around me. Looking down in surprise, I could see her burying her face into my side as she hugged my torso. I'm not sure why, but I could feel my cheeks heating up more as I gazed down at her. She had never seemed quite so… impulsive before. Shakily, I brought my arms up to circle around her as well, and we sat there like that for a few minutes, wrapped in each other's arms. When we finally unraveled from each other's grip, I could see her pink face giving me that signature smile that I'd grown fond of.

"Heh, that was… unexpected," I chuckled, kind of at a loss for words at the moment.

"Heehee, yeah, I kind of just did it without thinking," she giggled, casting her gaze away from me for a moment.

"Well, I appreciate the gesture," I responded happily. "It isn't often that people know exactly the right time and way to comfort me."

"B-But all I did was hug you," she mumbled shyly.

"Yeah, but that's how close we've gotten, Naminé," I spoke softly, and she turned back to look at me again. "Even without knowing, your body knew exactly what to do out of impulse. I'd like to think that I could do the same, but so far all I've done is attempt to apologize."

"Mm, I think it goes both ways," she said, taking a pause as if to collect her thoughts. "You didn't have to keep apologizing, but you did because you could tell I was feeling weird. Even though I didn't want you to know, you could still tell how I was feeling just by looking at me. Most people don't really give it a second thought if I say I'm fine."

Had I really delved so deeply into the thought process? I figured that it was easy to tell that she was feeling awkward, but that could have been exactly what she meant. Maybe for other people, understanding her is somewhat difficult, but it's almost like second nature to me. All I need is to be around her and I can know anything without actually asking her. What kind of bond does that for people? I've surely never experienced it, not even with my twin brother!

"Maybe we should head back now," she said after the extended silence. "It's starting to get late."

I nodded in agreement and stood, helping her up once I was on my feet. The sun was already halfway down the horizon; how had I lost that much track of time? We got here at about four and the sun usually sets at… six? Ugh, I don't know, I'm never usually here in the autumn months! Either way, the orange glow made me feel at home, like I was still in Twilight Town, walking around on the beach with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Well, except for the fact that I was only with Naminé, but the environment was the same. The pinkish-orange glow of the sky was only further fueling my nostalgia.

"Whoa!" Naminé cried from beside me, stumbling over a rock hidden beneath the sand. Without even thinking, I went to catch her, but I didn't expect her to fall so hard and we both tumbled to the ground.

"Oof!" I grunted as we hit the ground. "A-Are you okay, Nam?"

"U-Um, yeah, I think I just stubbed my toe," she said shakily. "You… sort of cushioned the fall."

Somehow I hadn't even realized (I honestly have no idea how) but we had landed in a… compromising position. I was lying flat on my back with her face-to-face on top of me. I could feel my heart rate increase significantly as she stared back into my eyes. Oddly enough, though, I found myself not feeling embarrassed, and it seemed as though she wasn't either. All I could focus on were her eyes staring straight back into mine. I'd now seen her eyes in all sorts of different ways, but they always mesmerized me in different lights. I'd first seen them in the daytime when she captured my attention, then at night on the starlit terrace, and now here on a sunset beach.

I found that I couldn't bring myself to say anything, and from her gaze, she couldn't either. I had once wanted to learn all the secrets hiding behind her beautiful blue orbs, but now I couldn't see anything save for… what looked like confusion. Not a bad sort of confused, but one that begged to ask something, know something, believe in something. The way they sparkled as if thousands of stars were in them… I could stare into her eyes forever. And contained within that confusion was some other kind of look. Joy? Gleefulness? I couldn't say exactly, but she looked happy; I guess you could say happily confused. Carefree. I had never seen her in a truly carefree way, but the evidence was right in front of me. Never had I seen anyone look so… at ease.

Something else must have compelled me to do what I did next, because I never would have in my right mind. I felt my arms begin to circle themselves around her waist. As much as I wanted to will myself to stop, her eyes were entrancing me, stopping me from doing anything else. I expected her to yelp, squirm away, do something to stop me from what I was doing, but instead she did something else. I felt her forehead lightly press against mine, literally putting us into a face-to-face position. Still, neither of our cheeks flushed even the slightest hint of red.

She suddenly looked so… pretty in this light. I had always thought she was, but I had never given it more than a passing thought. Now, however, her beauty was radiating in a light that shone so brightly in front of me, but I couldn't cast my eyes away. I could feel her fingers grip the fabric on my chest a little tighter, and all I wanted to do was squeeze my arms tighter around her, almost as if to protect her from any outside source. So I did. She didn't stop me, she just continued staring at me in the same dreamy way that I stared at her. It must have looked pretty strange for any onlookers noticing us, but I couldn't be bothered to stop. She just looked so amazing, fantastic, beautiful, kissable…

I could feel my lips quiver at the thought. I couldn't, and yet the opportunity was right in front of me. Axel was right, I wasn't unsure how I felt about her; I most definitely liked this girl. Would she stop me if I tried? Everything else I'd done had only spurned her to advance slightly more. It would be quick; we were practically there already. All I would have to do is lean my head a bit and pucker. In fact, it almost looked as if she… wanted me to… That couldn't be right; she doesn't like me like that, does she? I can't believe it, and yet all the signs are here.

Before I knew what was happening, I could feel my eyes slowly closing shut, and hers were doing the same. Was this really about to happen? But what about everything we'd just discussed? No, it didn't matter, I like her more than I've ever liked any girl before, and somehow it took me until this moment to realize! I felt her shudder a bit in my arms as we both tensed up. She was gripping my shirt so hard, and I had to consciously stop myself from crushing her in my arms. This is it; we're really about to do this!

"R-Roxas? Naminé?!" someone said, snapping both of us out of our fantastic trances. We both shot looks to the source of the voice and instantly wore mortified expressions on our faces.

"Sora?!" I yelped in response. "What are you and Kairi doing here?!" Naminé quickly rolled off of me and we got to our feet without looking at each other.

"W-Well we were just out for a jog," he said, though he was still flabbergasted by what he had just seen.

"I think the better question is what were _you_ two doing here?!" Kairi added with just as much shock in her voice.

"We… We… Well, that is to say… um…" I stuttered dumbly.

"We were just about to head home," Naminé spoke quietly, and I finally looked over at her to notice her tomato-red face. I'm sure mine was no better.

Both pairs of us just stared at each other, Nam and I embarrassed and mortified, Sora and Kairi too stupefied to say something annoying or clever. It was a few minutes before anyone spoke a word.

"Um, I'll take you home if you want, Naminé," Sora finally managed to sputter out. "Your house is on the way to mine, and Kairi and Roxas have to walk the same way, right?"

"Uh, yeah," I muttered.

"Thanks," Naminé said timidly, following Sora to where his car was parked nearby. I wasn't offended that she didn't say goodbye to me. Hell, I hadn't been thinking straight enough to think to say it to her either!

"Roxas?" Kairi said. Huh? Apparently I'd been staring after my cousin and best friend as they headed out.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Kairi. Should we go?"

"Yeah…"

I brooded as we started walking in the direction of our neighbourhoods. Things could not have gone worse, could they? I had just pushed away the one girl in my life that I needed more than any other. She had the answers to all my questions, but more importantly she was the one girl I could count on in any situation. She'd been understanding to the point where I could tell her anything, and she'd just forgiven me for the whole date thing. Hell, that probably won't even happen now. I'll be lucky if she even wants to talk to me at school… Dammit, I should've stopped all that from happening, but instead I had to keep on going for more and more! Agh, I'm such an idiot!

"Roxas… are you okay?" Kairi asked uncertainly, as neither of us had spoken for the past few minutes.

"I'm fine," I shot back. Heh, like that'll convince her…

"I… I don't mean to… intrude or anything, but what exactly did Sora and I just see?"

"You just saw me ruining a friendship with my best friend," I grunted back.

"Oh… um, sorry, did… did we wreck something?"

"Nothing that wouldn't have been destroyed had you let us continue…"

"I'm sorry, Roxas…"

I just sighed and the two of us stayed silent for the rest of the walk. I hardly even muttered a goodbye to her as I turned down the street that led to my house. Needless to say, I probably wouldn't be hearing from Naminé for the next while…

* * *

Oh noez, GengaJupite, what have you done?! Everything was going so well until you ruined it!

Heh, well, if you take a gander at the second genre for the story, you'll see a beautiful five-letter word that should sum that up nicely. If you want the honest truth, I didn't actually think I was going to have that happen, but I like writing in the moment! It keeps my ideas fresh so that I know almost as little about what's going to happen as you guys do! My plot outline is completely different from what I've actually been making this story like, so I only have a super basic idea of what I want to happen in the end.

Anyway, up until I ruined it with Sora and Kairi's unwanted entrance, I loved how much fluff was going on! I'm primarily a fluff writer, so anything mushy is my kind of story! I'm almost certain that all of my stories (past, present, and future) have some kind of romance associated within them, so hopefully everyone here is a fan of fluff :)

Oh, as an extra note, I went back and reread the second chapter and realized there's a problem with something I wrote. When Roxas found out the winner of CoCK gets 400 munny, he said it wasn't enough to even buy a decent pair of shoes, but now 200 munny is a lot. Initially I had planned on munny being equal to 1/10 of a dollar, but then I forgot about that, so if you were wondering, yes, that was just a stupid mistake. Pretend now that munny and dollars are equally related.

Okay, well I dunno what else to say except for please review! Oh, and if you get the chance, check out my soundcloud (link on my profile) because I just posted a new song (it's an original 8-bit medley).

Thanks for reading!

_-GengaJupite_


	11. Why are you so freakishly happy?

Well, with work proving to exhaust me at the end of the day, I think that my one-to-two-week update rate will probably be closer to two weeks from now on. As much as I hate to say it, it's hard to update the two main stories I'm working on every week, and also the fact that I'm doing two other fics as well just makes writing get rather hectic. I'd like to say that I could update this often, but I'd much rather be out making money so that I can buy things (like preordering the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD remake). Basically, expect an update on weekends, because I probably won't get much writing done on weeknights.

Thanks for reviewing!

**That one Anon: **Judging from the name you've given yourself, I'd like to assume you are the same anon from the previous chapter, so I thank you for your continued support. I think I had originally planned for Roxas and Ven to interact a lot more but the direction this story started taking didn't really let me have too many moments for them. I'm still uncertain about the entire plotline, so who knows; maybe they will get some more brotherly moments in the future!

**Aiko3koutaforever: **Haha, your review made me feel all warm and fuzzy so thank you for that :P. Yeah, fluff is my forte, so I've been trying to work in little bits here and there. I actually didn't intend for that almost-kiss scene to happen, but once I started writing it I couldn't stop! Oh well, more drama, more fun :)

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Why are you so freakishly happy?_

I can't say I was surprised that Naminé didn't come to school the next day. I had gone up to the art room at lunch and right after school, but she hadn't been there either of the times. I figured something like this was gonna happen, but it still made me feel bummed out. I probably wouldn't have been able to say anything if she had been there, but I wanted to see her at least…

Why had I ever thought that kissing her would be a good idea?

We were best friends, and now, because of one stupid move on my part, I wasn't even sure what we were anymore. I mean, suppose Sora and Kairi hadn't shown up, what then? Nam and I would've shared a spectacular kiss, but then things would have been extremely awkward right after. But hell, kissing should have been the last thought on my mind! I've known her for barely a month and I wasn't even sure that I liked her until just yesterday! Any guy in his right mind should know that you work up towards something as significant as that! I. Am. An. Idiot.

"Roxas, you're taking this too hard," Ven said casually as we sat out by the front steps. "I mean, it's been one day and you're assuming she didn't show up because of one little incident? For all you know she might have had to stay home for some reason."

"I doubt it," I replied sullenly. Ven's point had some validity, but somehow I just couldn't believe it was that simple.

"Besides, it isn't like you guys actually did anything!" he stated, though his attempts at reassuring me were faltering.

"It doesn't matter if we did or didn't," I muttered. "I screwed up big time, Ven. You heard it straight from Sora, I forced her into that!"

"Uh, okay, first of all, Sora didn't say that; you did. Second, no one screwed up anything, Roxas. You two are just embarrassed because neither of you saw it coming. Third, stop blaming yourself! From what Sora told me, she easily could've gotten away if she had wanted to. Now think about this for a second, Roxas, why didn't she get off of you if you 'forced her into that'?"

"I dunno, maybe she was scared of offending me!"

"Dude, stop making up excuses to make yourself the bad guy! Seriously, even when you're upset, you try to defend her from everything. You didn't force her; she stayed because she _wanted_ to!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Oh my god, Roxas, stop, okay?! Just listen to me for a second," he said aggressively, shaking me by the shoulders to get me to shut up. "We're talking about Naminé here, right? Timid, innocent, always-blushing, little Naminé. Now, do you truly believe that she would have opted to kiss you for the sake of making sure you weren't offended over getting off you out of embarrassment?"

"…Probably not…"

"Exactly! And if I recall correctly, didn't you say that for once in her life she wasn't blushing?"

"I… I did say that…"

"Good, now put all of those pieces together, Roxas! I think you know what I'm trying to get at here."

"I just… how could she possibly like me though? There's no way!"

"You're hopeless," he sighed, standing up and stretching a bit. "Try not to be a huge buzzkill on your date with Selphie today, will you?"

Right, I'd nearly forgotten why we hadn't already left to go home. I was supposed to be taking Selphie out today, and Ven had wanted to talk to me before heading off. To be honest, I didn't really feel up for a date right now, but I'd feel bad if I asked Selphie to reschedule. She'd been posting all over every social media network about how psyched she was for our date… Seriously, I didn't even think people still used Myspace anymore, but she had a post on there as well.

"Ven," I called out before he walked too far. "When did you get so much knowledge on relationships and stuff?"

He grinned back at me, apparently flattered by my comment; I guess he took it as a compliment. "When you're outside looking in, things are really obvious. You've been saying the same thing about Sora and Kairi for the past month. I know it's confusing when you're on the inside, but, yeah, it's pretty obvious to me."

"Yeah, but I never figured out you and Aqua, and I've been an outside observer this whole time!"

"Heh, well, triangles are a little different," he chuckled, shrugging as if it didn't bother him. "And I guess I also learned a bit from the best."

"The best being?"

"Axel."

He gave me a thumbs-up before walking off in the direction of our house. Despite how down I was just feeling, I couldn't help the smirk from forming on my lips as he said that last part. Heh, really, Axel was considered the best? You could probably get better love advice from Wakka! I'm probably being too hard on the guy, though. He did help me out, after all. Then again, his help also led to the tragedy of a test date that yesterday turned out to be…

"Oh, Roxaaaaas," someone called obnoxiously from behind me. I didn't need to turn around to know it was Selphie, but I did anyway.

"Hey, Selph," I responded, faking the most natural smile I could muster. "You, er, you look nice."

She giggled in response, apparently unable to make a proper reply. I didn't mind; after all, this is how bubbly I expected her to be. Rikku walked by and cast us an uncharacteristically dour look. I might've felt guilty if I weren't already taking her out tomorrow, so I just shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"So, uh, you ready to go?" I asked casually. I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to be acting around Selphie. I mean, she likes me the way I am, right?

"Yup, let's go!" she cheered, clasping onto my arm and leading us in the direction of the café.

The whole way there, she chattered on and on about random gossipy things I had no idea about, but being the polite person I am, I listened to her every word. Well, almost every word; mostly I just made whatever responding gesture I would deem appropriate when she stopped talking. My mind was still rather clouded by Naminé and if she were all right. She hadn't responded to any of my texts, so I figured that she wasn't going to if I decided to try again now.

Other than stopping to order her drink, Selphie spent pretty much our entire date shooting rapid-fire gossip tidbits at me. Being that I'm still not aware of whom everyone in the school is, I just nodded and checked my phone inconspicuously and frequently. I don't know if I was expecting Nam to suddenly reply to me or something, but I had to make sure that she responded, even if it meant checking my phone every two minutes! I nearly jumped when my phone vibrated to tell me I had a text. Was it her? I had to know right away. Good thing Selphie isn't really paying attention to what I'm doing.

_1 new message from: Axel Lea_

Damn… Whatever, might as well see what he has to say…

_Hey, buddy, how's the date going? Nah, don't bother telling me, I know what Selphie's like lol. Btw, Xemnas has a new assignment for you and Xion since you "did well on your first one". Pfft, you didn't even have to do any of the talking… Anyway, lunch tomorrow, got it memorized?_

I was about to reply when my phone buzzed again. Yes, it had to be her this time!

_1 new message from: Axel Lea  
__Oh, I forgot to add, I heard about Naminé. Tough break, kid. Maybe I'll talk to her when I see Larxene tonight, though I can't promise I'll remember if I'm too busy boning._

God dammit, Axel, did you really have to add that last part? Seriously, I don't know why I consider him one of my closer friends…

"-and he, like, totally flipped out!" Selphie finally stopped talking and glanced at me.

"Heh, that's funny," I answered offhandedly.

"I KNOW, right?" she said before continuing her onslaught of words. How one person can have so much to talk about amazes me. Then again, I'm probably going to be dealing with the exact same things when I'm with Rikku tomorrow…

There really isn't much to say about how the rest of the date went; she talked and talked and talked, and I just kind of let her do her thing. Basically, it went exactly how I'd expected it to go, but I did hug her after walking back to her house with her. I mean, it may not have been a spectacular date, but I had to end it on a positive note somehow, right? I just hope she doesn't take it as more than it was. How far can you take a hug, anyway?

The next day came around rather quickly and without incident. Somehow math class felt ten times more awkward. I have no idea if Mr. the Wise knows there's something odd going on between his daughter and I, but I just felt uncomfortable the whole time I sat there. Surprisingly, Sora actually stayed awake to help keep me in… well, not high spirits, but I guess moderate spirits would be a more appropriate word. Truthfully, I just wanted the class to end so I could check if Naminé was here and then go get my assignment with Xion.

I quickly left for my locker as soon as the bell rang. Being that I had left so speedily, Xion wasn't there yet, so I took my time reconfiguring my bag and such.

"Hey, Roxas!" she said cheerfully as she walked down the hall. "Ready to go see what Xemnas wants?"

"Yeah," I said flatly, closing my locker, "but do you mind if we stop by the art room quickly?"

"Um, sure, but wh- Oh, the Naminé thing. I heard about that," she said apologetically. Geez, how had everyone caught wind of this? Probably Axel, that blabbermouth…

We made our way through the crowded halls and up to the third floor as fast as we could. I peeked my head into the art room once we got to it, but as expected it was empty. I sighed and shook my head to Xion. She shrugged and pulled me along by the sleeve since I couldn't seem to keep my gaze upwards. Before I knew it, we had already arrived at the warehouse-like building.

Axel and a few others were lounging around in the entrance room when we got there. I guess they didn't have some important meeting since they looked pretty relaxed today. Demyx was jamming out on his sitar and Zexion was reading some boring-looking book in the corner. Luxord was flicking cards around like boomerangs (it's actually a pretty cool trick) and everyone else in here was pretty much chilling out. I never really took the Organization for the kind of people to lounge about doing whatever, but I suppose they're only human. Xaldin nodded to us and opened the door to the conference room where Xemnas and the other Organization 'heads' were talking amongst themselves.

"Yo, kiddies!" Xigbar greeted us. Gee, everyone seemed like they were in a good mood today except me…

"Roxas, Xion," Xemnas nodded to both of us. We nodded back and took our seats near the group of them. "As you know, you did well on your first assignment. I've decided to task you with something different this time, however. The others will focus on securing funds, but we need the two of you to start designs on posters and such for the upcoming events. Can you handle this?"

We both nodded, but I was feeling a little unsure of myself. I'm not exactly the most artistically gifted person, and of course the one artist I know just happens to be avoiding me right now… Add that to the fact that Xion's doodles in History class aren't that great and now we have two artistically challenged people trying to design posters… I wonder what Ven's event-planning group is doing.

"Roxas?" Xion's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Huh, when did we get back into the entrance room?

"Sorry," I muttered, looking around stupidly. "Did you say something, Xion?"

"Hehe, you zone out way too often," she chuckled, waving her hand in front of my face. "I said I was going to hang out here with the Organization today and asked if you were gonna go back to your usual place."

"Oh, uh, yeah. I wanted to talk to Sora about something."

"M'kay! We're still on for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we have the whole day so we can pretty much do whatever."

"Okay, see ya then!"

I halfheartedly waved goodbye to her and some of the others as I made my way out of the building. I found my usual group of friends all in the same place as they usually are and quietly sat down next to Sora. Luckily for me, he wasn't flirting with Kairi today so I might actually get a chance to talk to him.

"Hey, Roxas!" he greeted when he noticed me. "Where'd you go off to?"

"Just some Organization stuff," I replied plainly. He gave me an odd look, but shrugged it off. I still wish I knew what his deal with the Organization was, as I hadn't really thought about it in a while. "Anyway," I continued, "I was wondering if… y'know, since you drove her home and all… did you-"

"Is this about what happened with Naminé?" he asked. I nodded, doing my best to keep eye contact. "To be honest, we didn't really talk much on the way back to her house. I was still kinda dumbstruck, and I think she would've been too embarrassed to say anything either way."

"Yeah, I figured. I just thought it couldn't hurt to ask," I sighed.

"Have you tried talking to her? It might be a better idea than asking me about it."

"You think I haven't tried? It's a little hard to talk to her when I can't see her in person."

Sora gave me a confused look, and I returned it in the same manner. "Uh, Roxas, you know she's here today, right? I have Foods class with her in first period. Actually, you kept complaining about it the other day, but I'm pretty sure she was here yesterday too."

I wasn't sure if I should strangle my cousin for withholding that information or get up and scour the entire school to find her. My initial reaction, however, was neither of those; I simply sat there looking stupid while staring at Sora. After a minute or so, not to mention Sora flicking my nose to get my attention, I finally managed to stammer something out.

"W-Wait, she's here?! But she wasn't in the art room or with you guys!"

"Well, I figure if she's trying to avoid you, she wouldn't go to the only places you would think to look for her," he stated matter-of-factly. For once in his life, Sora was making quite a bit of sense.

"Yeah, but… where would she be?" I asked more to myself than to him. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but she really doesn't have a lot of interests other than art. Where would she go if not there?

"Dunno," he said while shrugging. "You guys think alike, though, right?"

"Um, sort of?"

"Heh, I thought you were best friends. Anyway, just go with your gut feeling if you wanna find her. Lunch just started about ten minutes ago, so you've got about forty more minutes to find her."

Shrugging, I stood up and headed off towards the main foyer of the school. Honestly, my gut feeling kept saying to check the art room, but that would be stupid since I already checked there. I doubt she would've gone in there after I checked, so I should try to come up with another place she might be.

Unfortunately for me, the only place I could think of would be the math room, and I'm pretty sure Mr. the Wise stays in there for lunch before going to his actual job at the hospital. I still can't get over the fact that he's secretly a millionaire with a hot wife… I reluctantly forced myself to walk the long way to the math room, peeking into each classroom I passed even though I knew that my gut said she would be in the math room. Oh, god, what would I even say if she is in there? I mean, I can't really apologize if her dad is sitting right there! I nervously eyed the room coming up on my right. Make this quick, Roxas; peek in and get out, regardless if she's there or not.

Holy crap, Sora was right about my gut feeling! Really, of all the places to be hiding, she would choose this room! Even though she hadn't noticed me or anything, I felt a smile cross my lips. Well, at least I know she isn't avoiding school to get away from me. Now to get out of here.

"Ah, Roxas!" Mr. the Wise greeted as I was about to duck out. I would describe how I was feeling right then, but honestly there would be so much profanity that I don't think I'd be allowed to say it. Think of the swearing scene in _The King's Speech_ for a good reference. "Come in, my boy, I just finished marking your and Sora's tests!"

Trying my best to act natural, I quietly stepped into the room and made my way over to where Mr. the Wise's desk was. Despite the fact that he had "just finished marking our tests" he had to shuffle through all the papers just to find it, so I stood there awkwardly. I was unsure if I should look over at Naminé or not; through my peripherals, I could see that she was avoiding looking at me.

"Hmm, I could have sworn I just marked those," Mr. the Wise pondered. Oh, come on, seriously?! "Wait here, Roxas. I may have left them in my filing cabinet in the teacher's lounge. I'll just be a few moments."

With that, he hurried out of the room. Well, if there was ever a time for me to do so, now would be the time to try to talk to Nam.

"Hey," I said as casually as I could muster, stepping towards the desk she was seated at.

"Hi," she said timidly, not looking up from her sketchbook.

"I, uh… I guess you didn't get my texts," I stammered. Like I said before, I had no idea how I was supposed to go about talking to her right now.

"No… I, um… I got them…" she muttered, and her hand began sketching more rapidly as her face got redder.

"Oh…" I really wanted to say more to her, but I wasn't completely sure what I wanted to say. All I knew was that I hated this feeling of distance between us. Besides, I wouldn't be able to get a full apology out right now if Mr. the Wise would be back in just a few minutes.

"Roxas," Mr. the Wise said, poking his head into the room as if on cue, "I seem to have misplaced your test. Perhaps I took it home the other evening. My apologies, but I will return it to you on Monday with the rest of the class' tests; I must be going now though. Have a nice long weekend!"

I waved to him and mentally thanked whatever fate had allowed me to have this extended time with Naminé. At the moment, it was uncomfortable and weird, but now I might have the chance to right some of our wrongs before the end of lunch period.

"I… I have to go," Naminé said, still avoiding my eyes. She started to pack her things away, but I lightly placed my hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Nam, wait," I said, finally receiving some brief eye contact with her. "I-I… I just… I came here to find you. I knew you'd been avoiding me but… I really wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" she questioned.

"Yeah, it's just that, well, things went a little… too far on Tuesday…"

"Roxas," she started, "y-you shouldn't be apologizing. If anyone should it should be me…"

And then we both started to try explaining ourselves at the same time. It was odd how neither of us really stopped to hear the other person out, but that's kind of just how it went down.

"Nam, I put too much unfair pressure on you-"

"I didn't get up when I had the chance-"

"-and it wasn't right of me to treat you-"

"-so the fact that things got out of hand was-"

"-like that because I knew you'd be embarrassed. I just-"

"-entirely my fault. After all, you were stuck under me, but-"

"-feel so terrible now because you're my-"

"-I had every opportunity to get off you. What-"

"-best friend, and I'd hate to think I ruined that. If I-"

"-I'm trying to say here is that it's not you're fault because-"

"-could go back, I'd stop myself from being an idiot since-"

"-I never should have tried to kiss you!" we both ended our statements in unison.

It was odd how the room fell deathly silent after that. We both stared at each other with our mouths slightly agape, but neither of us could say anything more. I was just as surprised by what she had said as she apparently was over what I had just said. Had she really… tried to kiss me? I mean, I remember in the moment it seemed like maybe she had, but I truly thought that I was just trying to take some of the heat off of myself.

"Heh… ehehe… hehehe," I started to chuckle.

"W-What's so funny?" Naminé asked, trying to rub the blush out of her cheeks.

"Hehe, it's j-just… I was so worried about how we might get past me trying to kiss you, but apparently you were going through the exact same thing! I thought you were avoiding me because you thought I was gonna try something again."

"I-I don't really see what makes it so funny," she breathed out. "But I suppose we're on… even ground now, right?"

"Heh, yeah. Maybe… we should just forget about this incident. I mean, I can't feel awkward around my best friend all the time, now can I?"

"I… don't think it'll be as easy as simply forgetting the incident," she answered shyly, "but I guess it couldn't hurt to try."

"What's the matter?" I asked. I could tell something was still troubling her. I've always tried to be quick about resolving issues, so being able to tell when there's still some residual discomfort comes naturally to me. Plus, I'm supposedly good at reading Naminé's emotions.

"It's just… I want to make sure that we still… are on the same page, Roxas," she spoke softly, turning to look me in the eye again. "You're still my best friend, b-but I think that's what I want us to stay as…"

I did my best to hide the pain that inflicted upon me. I had just come to terms with my feelings about Naminé, so to be told that she didn't want anything more than what we already had was pretty disheartening. Perhaps that's why she was upset about trying to kiss me; she thought she was stringing me along, or something to that effect. I knew Ven was wrong when he implied that she was into me. Holding the shaky smile I was already wearing, I shrugged at her.

"I… wouldn't have it any other way," I said lightly. She smiled in return and we spent the rest of the lunch period chatting as if nothing awkward had ever happened.

I pretty much floated by through the rest of the day. I was extremely happy to have cleared things up with Naminé, regardless of the fact that she only wanted to stay friends. I can't say I didn't somewhat see it coming, anyway. We've only known each other for a month (as I've said numerous times), and lots of people like to take some time before they start a new relationship. I can respect that, and if she wants time, then I'll give her time. This is all assuming she would want to be my girlfriend though. Gah, even just saying that in my head makes me feel funny inside!

There really isn't much for me to say about my date with Rikku. I feel kind of bad about Selphie because I was all moody and sulking for that date, but I was pretty upbeat while with Rikku. Hell, I even paid attention to… well, only about half the things she said, but that's still an improvement! Besides, I'm pretty certain she said the same things Selphie had told me just yesterday.

"You seem happy," Ven chuckled from the living room as I waltzed into our house with a big grin across my face. "I take it your date with Rikku went well?"

"I guess," I said in a stupidly happy sort of way.

"That's… an odd way to answer," said Ven. "If it wasn't the date, why the hell are you so freakishly happy? Usually you're mellow about your emotions unless you're sulking."

I shrugged and flopped down on the couch next to him. "Probably because Nam and I aren't all awkward anymore."

"Heh, good for you, buddy," he chuckled, patting me on the shoulder. "So are you guys dating yet?"

Ugh, I had a feeling that question was gonna come up. I was still a bit bummed out by what she had said to me, so I wasn't looking forward to when Ven or whoever would bring it up. "No, I didn't actually ask her, but she said she didn't want to go past being friends."

"Ouch, stuck in the friend zone."

"Oh, and you aren't?" I retorted with a playful shove.

"Hey, Aqua never said anything about wanting to just be friends," he laughed back.

"Really? Well, what was her exact response after you went up to her with your ham nipples?"

"Hehe, she, uh, said that maybe we could talk about it another time when I wasn't wearing a meat bra…"

We both broke out in a fit of laughter, something that doesn't seem to happen as often as it should between brothers. I'm not even sure what Ven had been doing in the living room, since the TV was off, but I had definitely stopped him from whatever it was. Now if only Sora were here, then it would be just like old times when we were kids.

"What are two laughing about?" asked our mom as she walked into the room.

"Heh, nothing important, Mom," Ven replied between his laughing fits. "Just… y'know, being guys."

"Mm, sometimes I wish I'd gotten a daughter," she joked and turned when the sound of Dad's office door opening echoed through the house. "Oh, Squall, who was on the phone?"

I guess I never really went into detail about whom my parents are. My mom, Rinoa, runs the daycare centre close to the elementary school. My dad, Squall, Leon, Dad, whatever you want to call him, has some public defense, government-related job that Ven and I have never really known the details about. Given that Destiny Islands isn't exactly under the huge threat of attack or anything, he only makes a regular sort of salary, which is why we aren't rich despite him having a government job. On another note, no one in our family knows where Ven and I got our blond hair from. It must be a recessive gene, but it just seems odd that no one else in our family has it.

Anyway, Dad walked into the room shortly after. "It was just Aerith." Right, Dad and Uncle Zack were half brothers or something, which is why Sora has the same last name as us. "She wanted to know if we had time next week to go to the hospital with her and Sora."

"Oh, I didn't even realize it would be a new month next week," Mom replied. "I don't know if I'll be able to make that."

"I figured," Dad said calmly. "I told her that you and I could go visit him when we have some time, but the boys can go, right?"

"Yeah," we both answered a bit downtrodden. "What day did she say?" I asked just for the sake of confirmation.

"Probably Thursday or Friday, possibly even Monday the week after depending on her schedule," he said plainly. Dad never showed his emotional side very much, but just looking at him, we could see the pain in his eyes. In fact, it hurt all of us to know why we were going to the hospital with Aunt Aerith and Sora. These monthly trips haven't gotten any easier since the whole incident occurred.

Still, going to visit Vanitas every now and then _is_ the right thing to do…

* * *

I realized that it's been quite some time since any of those annoying questions from the beginning of the story popped up, so I figured "Hey, let's bring back one of them! *Inserts tragic incident that readers are still unaware of*". Unfortunately, you won't be getting to find out about it for a little bit because Roxas still has to go through his dates with Xion and Naminé before I can skip ahead to that segment. Ah, the evils of prolonging suspense :)

Anyway, wow, this actually took me a long time to start writing and it isn't even that long of a chapter. In fact, from the look of it, this is the second-shortest chapter I've written for this story. Sorry, guys, I promise I'll start picking up the pace and interest levels for this story as soon as I can. Inspiration's been pretty low lately, and it surprises me that I seem to get new fav/follows in between each chapter because I still think this story needs a lot of improvement. Regardless, I'm grateful for those of you who have done so!

Please review! I know it's easy to be lazy and just say "I'll review next chapter" or "I'll review it when it's finished" but it really helps writers grow when their readers give them a little comment or two per chapter. I can't expect everyone to review every chapter, but I'd hope that I could hear from all of you at least twice (three if I'm being hopeful here :))

Okay, well that's enough for my review begging. Thanks for reading!

_-GengaJupite_


	12. Axel sure knows how to make an exit

So many games, so little time. I don't know why I keep buying things for myself because I seriously have such a small amount of time to do stuff I want to that I haven't even started some games that I bought from close to a year ago… Ah, the paradox of working full time: work full time to make a lot of money to buy things with, have no time to use the things you buy because you're always working. One of many sad but true facts of reality :(. I wish I were still in high school… Seriously, all you high-schoolers, don't take your near limitless amount of free time for granted! Wow, that made me sound like an old geezer.

Since I got four reviewers, I've moved the responses to the bottom!

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Axel sure knows how to make an exit_

"Ven, have you even gone on any of your dates yet?" I asked as I towel-dried my hair.

"What's it to you?" he asked from the other side of the door, waiting for me to get out of the bathroom so he could brush his teeth.

"Well, I'm about to go on my third of four in a little while, and I don't think you've even gone on your first yet!"

"Yeah, well, some of us actually like to give chicks a bit of time instead of rushing to get it all done," he replied in a snarky manner. "And holy crap, hurry up, I've been waiting out here for, like, seventeen minutes!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh, calm yourself!" I laughed, quickly throwing on my clothes before opening the door. "How do I look?" I asked sarcastically.

"Like a douche," he chuckled; gee, thanks… "but that's okay because I heard Xion's chased after a couple assholes before."

"Oh, really? Like who?" I asked as he brushed past me.

"I dunno, I never heard names or anything, just that she has."

Heh, I'll have to ask her about that later. In any case, I'm pretty sure he wasn't being serious about my look. I mean, how douche-y is it to wear cargo shorts and a white V-neck tee? Sure, maybe the rest of Destiny Islands is gonna be dressed in their cold weather clothes, but, like I've said before, this climate is going to feel hot to me until I live here for at least a few more years. It might seem odd that I talk about my hometown's weather like it's foreign and tropical (which it is), but anyone would understand if they, too, had spent ten months out of a year away from home for the past four years!

Anyway, I'm rambling here. Today was just gonna be a chill day to hang out with Xion and do whatever. I smiled inwardly at the fact that this date would actually be more enjoyable than the last two. I mean, I honestly don't talk to Selphie and Rikku very much, so it's kind of a relief to go out with someone who relates with me. It also helps that she's cute; not to say that Selphie and Rikku aren't, but…I dunno, I'm just rambling again.

I didn't have much planned for the date today. Initially, I had been worrying that it would turn into one of those awkward dates because I wouldn't have enough stuff planned out, but I don't think Xion would really care. My only thoughts were shopping on the market street, maybe going to the park for a bit, and then just seeing what happens from there. To be honest, I think it probably would've been just fine with her if we decided to laze about at one of our houses. Xion's not exactly high maintenance, and that's one of the things I like about her.

_Bzz…bzz…bzz…_

"Hello?" I answered my phone.

"Hey, Roxas!" Xion's voiced chanted from the other end. "You ready to go soon?"

"Yep, I'll leave in a minute. We're still meeting in front of the school?"

"Mhm, see you soon!"

"Okay, bye."

Glancing in the mirror, I brushed my hands through my hair and down my shirt a bit before grabbing a bag and heading out of the house.

Xion wasn't there when I arrived, so I sat down on one of the benches and took a moment to think to myself. A lot had happened over this one month that I've been going to school here, and I'm not completely sure if that's good or bad. All these weird things with the Organization never would have happened if I hadn't met Xion, yet I'm glad I did. She's also the reason I met Naminé after all, and Nam is probably the person I cherish most out here. I've had more than a few crushes in the past, but none ever felt so strongly as the one I held for Naminé. Heh, it would probably be weird for me to do so, but I almost feel like I should be thanking Xion.

My lips curled into a smirk at the realization that I'd never found out whom Xion liked. It probably doesn't matter anymore since she may or may not still like the guy, but I can't deny that I'm still a bit curious. I suppose I could always squeeze the answer out of Axel, since I'm betting he figured it out. Despite how much I tease him, he's quite clever when it comes to all these sorts of things. Maybe he really _is_ "the best", to quote Ven.

"Boo!" someone shouted from beside me, nearly causing me to leap right off the bench. With fingers clenched tightly onto the wooden backrest, I shot a look to my side to see Xion nearly dying of laughter.

"What the… When did you get here?!" I croaked through my dry mouth.

"Heehee, I've been sitting here for about five minutes now," she managed to say between laughs. "I told you that you zone out way too often!"

Taking a few deep breaths, I tried my best to think of a comeback. While nothing I could think of in those few seconds was very good, I had to say something. "Well, I've just got a lot to think about. Roxas Destati is a very busy person."

"Oh, should I be graced by his majesty's presence?" she retorted playfully.

"Heh, usually people would be kissing the very ground I walk on, but I'll let it slide for you, Xion," I responded in the same manner.

Chuckling lightly we both stood from our spot and started walking down the street. I sort of led the way since Xion didn't know where we were going. While we walked, I tried to remember all the little tips Axel had texted me about dates. Initially I had ignored him and told him that I didn't need the help, but the things he'd said were surprisingly accurate when I thought about my dates with Selphie and Rikku. It's funny, but if Axel weren't quite so…well, Axel-y, then I'd probably believe everything he says right off the bat, seeing as he hasn't been wrong about anything so far.

Anyway, what was one of the things he'd said? I think it had something to do with seeing what she's wearing because that lets me know how comfortable she is with me. Or maybe it had something to do with if she's trying to go past friendship… Gah, I don't know, and it's Xion, I'd assume she's just comfortable!

Hmm, oversized, dark green, knit sweater and black tights. I mean, to me that seems like pretty comfortable clothing for a girl. I have no idea what it actually means, if anything… Why am I even testing this out on Xion if we're just hanging out?! Wow, I'm stupid…

"So, Roxas," Xion said, snapping me out of the trance that I hope she didn't notice again, "what's your favourite colour?"

"Huh?" I responded dumbly. "Where'd that come from?"

"I dunno, I just kinda realized that I don't actually know too much about you other than where you went to school before here and that you have a problem with zoning out."

"Fair enough," I chuckled. "Favourite colour, huh? I'd have to say…orange."

"Orange? Ew!" she laughed.

"Ew?" I laughed as well, though more out of confusion at her laughter. "What's wrong with that?"

"Hehe, it's just that orange is just so…so…orange!" Wow, orange is orange; I never would've figured that one out on my own. "Besides, I've never seen you wear anything orange before!"

"Meh, bright colours aren't really my thing," I said, shrugging and turning to her. "Orange reminds me of Twilight Town, anyway. That's probably why it's my favourite; otherwise I'd say blue or something."

"Blue or something," she repeated with a light giggle. "How very…specific of you."

"Alright then, smartypants," I laughed, giving her a playful shove, "what's _your_ favourite colour since mine are so lame?"

"Well, I have two, but they're pretty different from each other," she said. "I'd say my first one is black-"

"Oh, I didn't realize you were so gothic," I cut her off. "You like hiding in dark alleys and crying about how unfair life is too?"

"Hey, don't be mean!" she laughed. Mean? You just made fun of my favourite colours, Xion! "Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was about to tell you my other one is lilac."

"…"

"…No comment on that one, Roxas?"

"Heh, well…you're gonna make fun of me if I do…"

"Probably, but you should tell me anyway," she failed to suppress her laughter.

Taking a deep breath to prepare for embarrassment, I managed to mumble out, "What's lilac?"

"…Come again?" she asked, though I wasn't sure if she actually didn't hear or if she was trying to push me even further.

"What's lilac?" I repeated loudly enough for her to hear.

"Heehee…ehehe…w-what's…R-Roxas, d-do you really n-not know?" she struggled to say without exploding in giggles.

"I'm a guy, the fanciest colour I know is probably turquoise," I said flatly, shrugging since she was inevitably going to start laughing. I was right.

After a few minutes of uncontrolled giggles and literally having to hold onto her so she wouldn't fall over, Xion finally managed to answer my question. "Ehehe, wow, that was just too good, Roxas. Ahem, but, uh, lilac's like a really light purple."

"Ugh, could you really not have said light purple and avoided all of that?" I groaned.

"Sorry, but I didn't realize you only knew colours when the word light or dark is slapped onto the beginning," she laughed.

"God, you're too complicated sometimes," I laughed as well, mussing up her hair a bit. "Naminé is ten times more simple to deal with than you."

"Oh, yeah?" Xion replied with a smirk. "Well, she's all artsy and whatnot; doesn't she have some super complex favourite colour?"

"Nope," I retorted smugly, "her favourite colour happens to be white."

"Heehee, you sure she didn't mean eggshell?"

"Okay, that's not a real colour; I swear colour fanatics or whatever they're called just wanted an excuse to make another one," I chuckled.

"Whatever you say, Roxas," she laughed.

By the time we'd actually finished our debate on colours and such, we were already halfway down the market street. Xion made me stop in a whole bunch of girly clothing stores with her, but I didn't really mind too much. For the most part, I sat on the couches with all the other guys whom had been dragged in by their girlfriends. The only difference between them and I was that Xion and I weren't dating.

That's a weird though, Xion and I dating. I mean, it's something I could picture in my head, but I can't imagine it ever happening for real. We might only have known each other for a short time, but she's like a sister to me. Heh, I wouldn't mind trading her with Ven for a week or two. It would certainly prove for an interesting experience, that's for sure.

"Hey, Roxas?" I heard Xion's voice from behind me. I turned around on my seat to see her holding a couple bags in her arms. "Wanna go get some food? I skipped on breakfast this morning."

"Sure, I'm pretty hungry myself," I said, glad to be doing something other than watching Xion browse through clothing racks.

We wandered down towards where the food stands and restaurants were. I always thought it was weird that these things were all grouped together instead of spaced out along the entire street. Maybe it has something to do with competition; I dunno, I'm not a businessperson. After glancing at the menus for each restaurant, Xion and I settled on one called Cid's Grill.

The place had a theme that I couldn't really place my finger on. It was kind of industrial, but also sort of rustic. It sort of made me think of some sort of high-tech, sailing ship, but I digress. A moogle led us to a table that had a nice view of the beach that was a few blocks down. Now, while I may have been surprised to see a giant mouse thing on the first day of school, moogles are pretty commonplace to me; they ran most of the stores and such back in Twilight Town, so seeing a floating puffball with a giant nose isn't as strange as it maybe should be.

"So," Xion said while we glanced at our menus, "what's new?"

"Considering we just saw each other yesterday, nothing really," I chuckled.

"Hmm, well, how are you holding up, y'know, with the whole Naminé thing?"

"Naminé thing… Oh, that! Heh, we made up already," I responded happily.

"Really?" she questioned, glancing up at me. "That was certainly quick."

"Yeah, but I'm relieved that it was," I said, placing down my menu once I'd chosen what I wanted. "Apparently we were both misunderstanding each other, but we're all good now."

"Oh, so I guess you two are back on track towards…whatever you had?" Xion asked skeptically, though her question left me confused.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"I dunno, weren't you guys, like, kinda together, or at least heading towards that?"

I stopped to ponder that for a moment. Had people really thought Nam and I were getting that close? I mean, I'd been spending quite a bit of time with her, true, but no more than I did with my friends back in Twilight Town. Then again, I lived with them when I was there, so I guess it isn't really the same situation. Still, I never realized that it might have seemed like we were actually going past the friendship level.

"I…don't think so," I answered truthfully, "and even if we were, it wouldn't matter at this point."

"Oh? Why not?" she pushed me further.

"It… It's kinda weird to talk about," I mumbled, feeling a light blush creeping onto my cheeks. Xion just gave me a beckoning smile and leaned her elbows on the table while her chin rested in her palms. I sighed, but figured she wouldn't stop until I gave her a straightforward answer. "I basically had to corner her so that we could talk about what happened at the beach. Once we started talking, things sorta just…worked out. I laughed it off and said we should just forget about it, but she wanted me to be clear that…that she just wanted to stay friends."

"Yowch, that's gotta sting," Xion responded.

"A little, but it's nothing I can't handle," I said, shrugging. "What about you?"

"What _about_ me?" she repeated.

"Well, what ever happened with that guy you were crushing on? The Twilight Town guy."

"Oh, him," she said, taking a sip of water in an attempt to hide her blush, though I smirked when I noticed. "I dunno, we've gone out once, but it's kind of hard to get a read on him."

"I always thought guys were the simple ones," I chuckled, leaning back comfortably.

"They are," she laughed, "but that doesn't make it any easier to tell how you all feel. Trying to get a read on some guys is like looking at a rock."

"Why didn't you just ask him outright?"

"Ugh, this is why guys are too simple; simpleminded that is!" she laughed again. "I couldn't possibly just _ask_ him what he thinks of me!"

"Why not?" I asked, not completely following her non-existent reasoning.

"Well…because…" Hah, I knew she didn't have a reason! "It's like… How should I put this… Imagine if a girl, no, not just any girl… Imagine if Naminé asked you how you felt about her!"

My smug grin melted a bit, and I contemplated the idea. "Uh, okay, I'm imagining."

"Okay, now what would you tell her if she went straight to the point and asked "Roxas, how do you feel about me, about us?""

My grin melted completely as I pictured sitting in this restaurant with Nam across from me instead of Xion. It got a bit more uncomfortable as I pictured her actually asking me that outright. She didn't actually know I liked her; at least, I'm assuming she doesn't. I'm pretty sure that she was just trying to clear up what happened at the beach, but I tried to hide the fact that I actually did like her.

"You see?" Xion said when I didn't respond, though I'm assuming my frown had given away my thoughts.

"Well…" I said as one final thought crossed my mind, "I guess that makes sense, but that's only because you know I like her. How is it different when you don't know if the guy likes you like that?"

"Because it's the same response either way," she sighed. "It gives it away if I ask, and if it turns out he doesn't think anything more of me, then he'd obviously just feel awkward telling me that there's nothing there! Don't you get it? It's a silent response regardless of his feelings."

I took another moment to process all the information. When she got down to it, it really did make quite a bit of sense. It's a rather awkward situation either way, and, at least from the guy's perspective, I'd never be able to tell if she was asking me because she likes me, or just wants to know where my head's at.

Other than ordering our food, the two of us sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. I couldn't think of anything worthwhile to say, and it seemed as though Xion was a bit lost in thought. As much as I wanted to spook her the way she did to me earlier, it didn't seem like the best thing to do at the moment. Instead, I looked down at the beach and watched the surfers riding around on the waves, though my mind was focused more on my relationship with Naminé than the surfers. It really did make me wonder what I would say if she were to ask me how I feel about her.

"We should get started on the posters soon, hey?" Xion said as our food arrived. "Got any ideas for how we should do them?"

"Heh, nope," I chuckled, taking a bite of my burger. "In case you hadn't noticed, we aren't the most artistically adept people, Xion."

"Hey, I'm a beautiful stick person artist!" she laughed, lightly kicking me under the table.

"Haha, I think we're gonna need something better than stick drawings," I responded, returning the kick. "Do you think it'd be okay to drag Naminé into our Organization stuff?"

Xion shrugged. "I don't see why not; she _is_ Larxene's stepsister after all. Not to mention that she's friends with both of us and already knows all of them anyway."

"Yeah, I guess I can always talk to her about it tomorrow or something."

"Mm, got any plans next week?" Xion suddenly changed the subject.

"I, uh, might have to go somewhere with Sora and Ven," I responded, doing my best to hide the sadness in my voice.

"Oh, like a family get together type thing?" she asked innocently.

"Not… Not exactly…"

"Hey," Xion said softly, her voice laced with concern as she reached across the table to lightly touch my hand, "we don't have to talk about it if…if it's too personal."

I looked up at her and managed to give her a shaky smile. She returned the gesture and squeezed my hand lightly before retracting her hand back to her side of the table.

"Anyway," she continued, "I was asking because Axel said that they're gonna have another meeting thing at his house sometime next week."

"Heh, do you really think I need to be there?" I chuckled remembering how I hadn't even taken part in the meeting portion last time.

"Well, if I'm being honest," she giggled, "no, I don't think you do, but it's fun to get everyone together, right?"

"Uh, I'm not sure I'd call most of the Organization members fun," I said sheepishly, "but I guess if you want me to be there…"

"Heehee, you get a zero for enthusiasm, but I'll take it!" she laughed again, nudging me under the table.

The rest of our time at the restaurant went rather smoothly, and after about an hour or so of being there we were back on our way down the market street and heading towards the park. For not having anything planned, I was glad that the day seemed to be going by without a hitch. I can only hope that my date with Naminé will go down just as nicely, if not better. I _do_ have a couple more things planned for that date anyway.

The two of us circled around the pond and looked out towards the water. There were a couple kids throwing breadcrumbs around for the ducks, and I smiled at the memory of doing the same thing as a kid. Sora was always the one who would try to scare them when Ven and I scattered crumbs around the sand. As we approached a bench, the thought of Sora and Ven manifested itself into a different thought in my head, and I realized that I hadn't really asked anyone about it in a while despite how much it used to bother me.

"Hey, Xion," I said as we sat down.

"What's up?"

"Uh, I was just wondering, well…" I began, trying to approach the subject delicately, "do you know what the whole deal with the Organization and Ven's group was?"

"Hm? Why do you ask? I thought you'd stopped caring."

"I did for the most part," I answered truthfully, "but I think that's only because there hasn't been many incidents between them after that whole fiasco at The Lounge. Ven says it's mostly to do with Sora, but neither of them would outright tell me what it was."

"I see," she said, looking away from me and out to the water. "Sorry, Roxas, but I honestly have no idea. I always thought they just didn't get along. The only thing I know about the Organization that you don't is that it wasn't always a thirteen member operation."

"Really? Heh, what'd they call themselves before?" I said offhandedly.

"I dunno if they even had a name before," she said, turning back to me and shrugging. "But Xemnas likes to talk about how back when he was in grade nine the only members of their thing were him, Xigbar, and these three other guys I've never heard of. I can't remember their names, but apparently the five of them ran all of it until some big incident happened and got those other three into some trouble. I guess Xemnas took control of it afterwards and started recruiting more people so he could form it into Organization XIII."

"Huh, I wonder what happened to those other three guys," I mused.

The story, though I'd never heard it, seemed somewhat relevant to me. It wasn't like a familiar relevance or anything like that, but perhaps it had to do with the fact that there were so many unanswered questions regarding the Organization and I finally had a start on it; after all, it's better to have something than nothing. Now I would just have to figure out how this one event had anything to do with Sora, if it even did. It isn't unlikely that this one thing has nothing to do with Sora's involvement in the whole situation, but I'm grateful for the information regardless.

"So, you and Naminé, huh," Xion nudged me suddenly.

"Heh, you really like changing topics on me, don't you," I chuckled, leaning back on the bench. "Why are you so interested in us, anyway?"

"What, I can't ask about two of my friends who might be something more? Let a girl be curious!" she returned playfully.

"Hey, I think you've heard nearly everything there is to hear about us," I said, leaning towards Xion now. "I think it's your turn to spill the beans."

"W-What? Spill what beans?" she stammered, a noticeable red tinge spreading across her face.

"Well, you still haven't told me this Twilight Town guy's name," I pried, hoping to coax something out of her. "Or anything about him other than his location for that matter."

"Hmph, fine," she huffed in defeat, "but I won't tell you his name!"

"Fair enough," I spoke comfortably, leaning back again and propping my legs up onto her lap. She scrunched her face at me, but didn't push them off.

"I guess…he's kinda funny, though he's a little bit of a dope sometimes. I like his hair, and he usually dresses…only a bit better than most other guys."

"That's it?" I questioned once she stopped. "Gee, you just described every somewhat well-dressed, teenage guy in the universe. C'mon, what's he like?!"

"Ugh, you're so stubborn, you know that, Roxas?" she groaned, though her smirk showed me that she wasn't actually annoyed. "To be honest, he's a lot like you, if we're talking personality."

"Oh, then you have much better taste than I expected," I laughed, earning a punch from her. "Wait, we aren't talking Ven here, are we?"

"What?! No way!" she giggled. "I don't think I could ever like him as more than a friend."

"Why not? He's not that different from me, being my twin and all."

"Too fat."

I laughed harder than I probably should have, but she joined me so that we both looked like weirdos having a riot on a park bench. Ah, the fat Ven jokes will never get old to me. I said it before and I'll say it again, Ven and I have the exact same physique, so it's hilarious to think that so many people think he's fat but I'm not.

"So, you aren't a chubby chaser then?" I said as our giggles died down.

"Heehee, not at all. Call me superficial, but I think I have to be at least a little physically attracted to a guy before I can develop any sort of feelings for him. I mean, inner beauty is ultimately more important and also how you get to know the person after, but most people aren't gonna want to get to know someone they don't find at least a bit attractive, y'know?"

"So the truth comes out," I laughed, earning yet another punch from Xion. Luckily she doesn't hit very hard. "I'm guessing this guy is a looker then?"

"He's pretty cute," she spoke in a thoughtful tone. "He's definitely better-looking than some of the guys I've liked in the past. Not all, mind you."

"Heh, speaking of which," I tried to hold back any unwarranted giggles, "Ven says you've chased after a few assholes. Care to elaborate?"

She gasped lightly, a slightly angry look coming over her face. "That jerk, they were not assholes! Ven's just jealous because he wanted me!"

"Hahaha, Xion that's the weakest excuse I've ever heard! Ven hasn't liked anyone except Aqua for as long as I can remember!"

"Yeah, well…he's still a doofus," she grumbled. "Anyway, you never told me any more about you and Naminé!"

I paused, trying to think of anything I could tell her, but I truly felt as though Xion was up to speed with pretty much everything regarding Nam and I. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"How about you tell me what makes her so special to you. Like, what makes her different from, say…me?"

"From you?"

"O-Or Kairi or someone!" she said in a flustered manner. "Just to get a comparison…"

I thought for a moment so I could collect my thoughts. It was a valid question, but oddly enough I couldn't seem to form an answer. It was as if things worked the way they did because that was the way it had happened.

"Heh, well, I can tell you that it isn't your looks, since you, Nam, and Kairi all look the same," I mused.

"Ugh, we do not! Everyone always says that, but we are three _very_ distinct-looking girls, Roxas!"

"Your hairstyles are at least," I chuckled, returning to my thoughts.

Why did I like Naminé the way I did? Was there really a reason? I don't want to feel shallow in saying that I don't know, but it's rather difficult to explain. Maybe a better way of figuring it out would be by saying what makes me see Xion and Kairi just as friends. I mean, other than the fact that Kairi is Sora's (kind of), I don't really talk to her that much. Sure, she's friendly and sweet, but I don't think I'd ever picture myself dating her. As for Xion, well, I said it before, she's like a sister to me.

"Tick tock, Roxas," Xion clicked impatiently.

Sighing, I tried my best to piece together an answer. "It's…not the simplest thing to explain. See, Kairi's sort of a given why I don't see her that way, or at least it should be a given. She's sweet and a good friend, but that's all I think I could ever see her as. With Naminé… We just kind of click, if you know what I mean. Like, we understand each other better than others do, despite what sort of personality differences we have. I dunno, I want to say more, but it's…difficult to put in words."

"And what about me?" she asked.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Well, you made the comparison with Kairi, but…well, how close are we, Roxas?"

"Practicing to ask your well-dressed version of me, I see," I chuckled, though her face remained relatively the same. "I guess…you're like a sister to me, Xion. I like you a lot, and we definitely have a special bond, one that close friends share. You were the first friend I made on my own here, and it doesn't matter that we've only known each other for a month because we're already like this," I said, crossing my fingers and flashing her a toothy smile.

She smiled, but her posture slouched a bit. Had I said something wrong? If someone had told me I was like a brother to them (well, besides Ven), then I would have taken it as a compliment.

"We should probably get going," Xion said out of the blue. "It's getting a bit late. See? The sun's already getting close to the horizon."

I did my best to ignore her sudden change of mood and looked out to see that she was right. The sun was about a hand's width above the horizon, which meant it would only be about an hour until it set. I looked at my phone to see that it was getting close to five o'clock. Lifting my legs off of Xion, I stood and helped pull her up to her feet.

The walk back to her place from the park was…awkward, to put it lightly. Other than engaging in extremely brief, small talk conversations, we didn't really say anything. I kept glancing at Xion to see if she was okay, but I could never get a good idea of what she was feeling. She looked like she was fine, but the fact that we weren't talking was…well, it didn't seem very like her to want to walk in silence.

We passed by the school, and I casually looked over to where the warehouse buildings were. I don't think they saw us, but Luxord and Xigbar were standing outside the entrance, leaning against the wall and smoking. While I can say that I didn't know they were smokers, the thought doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Those two give off that sort of vibe when I look at them anyway. Now if I saw Demyx and Vexen over there instead, that would be a whole different story.

"Thanks, Roxas," Xion murmured when we were by her driveway. "I had a good time today."

"Uh, yeah, me too," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "Wait, Xion," I said as she was about to turn and walk away.

"What is it?"

"I, um…I didn't…say anything to offend you, did I?"

"Huh? What gave you that idea?" she asked, seeming genuinely oblivious.

"Well, it's just that you seemed a little down while we were walking from the park. I thought maybe-"

"Oh, no, don't worry about it, Roxas," she reassured. "I…I had a lot on my mind. Sorry, something you said, uh, reminded me of something else. It wasn't what you said though! Don't worry, it wasn't you."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, yes, goodnight, Roxas; I'll see you on Monday!" she said, waving me off and turning back around.

I stood rooted to the spot for a few minutes before my legs finally decided that it was time to head home. I walked slowly so that I'd have a bit more time to think in the fresh air. She clearly had been affected by something I said, but I didn't really buy the whole 'reminded of something else' part. I don't think anything I could have said would have made her think of something else since it was all directly related to she and I.

By the time I got home, I still hadn't pieced any of it together, and all I'd managed to do was give myself a minor headache. Ascending the staircase, I went straight to my room and flicked on the light switch.

"Hey, buddy, how'd the date go?"

"Holy shit!" I cried and leaped about ten feet in the air. When my senses calmed down, I looked to see Axel lying on my bed with his hands behind his head and a stupid smirk on his face. "What the hell are you doing in my room?! How did you even get in here?!"

"Whoa, relax, Roxas, just take some deep breaths," he chuckled as if sneaking into someone's room was normal. "I knew you were going on a date with Xion today, so instead of asking you by text, I thought it might be more personal if I showed up and asked you in person."

"That still doesn't answer my question," I grumbled, taking a seat in the recliner in front of my TV.

"Heh, well, I saw that your window was open and there was a rope lying on the ground. I was actually gonna look for a ladder, but I figured that it wouldn't be a good idea if I started clanging around through your family's belongings. So, being the devilishly handsome, extremely resourceful guy that I am, I knocked on the front door and asked Ven if I could scare the living bajeesus out of you."

"…So none of that first part was true…"

"What do you mean? Of course it was true! I did exactly what I just told you!"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. Sometimes Axel gets a little too carried away with his 'comedic' stories. "Fine, fine, just…what did you plan on doing after you spooked me? And how long have you been sitting here in the dark?"

"Mm, probably an hour at most. I played a couple of your games while I was waiting; just gonna be blunt, your Mario Party high scores were terrible. As for what I was gonna do after I scared you, well, I'm doing it right now, aren't I? Besides you never answered my question."

I decided that, regardless of how unorthodox his approaches were, Axel meant well, so I told him all about the date. His expression changed a few times when I told him about our lunch conversation and what we talked about at the park. When I finished up with how we ended up walking home in silence, Axel seemed…deep in thought? No, Axel never thinks deep into things. I dunno, but it looked like he was processing or something.

"So she seemed upset?" he asked plainly.

"Yep."

"And this only happened…"

"Right before we left the park."

"Right, and you were talking about relationships or something?"

"Yeah, she wanted to know how Naminé compared to her and Kairi."

"Okay, I think I follow you now. You couldn't piece any of it together, though?"

"No, she just…got all weird on me at the end."

I watched as Axel sighed, sat up, and stood from the bed. Carefully stepping to where I was sitting, he got eye level with me and looked me straight in the face. I wasn't really sure what was going on, but he was making me kind of uncomfortable. Placing one of his hands on my shoulder, he moved closer so we were almost touching noses and said…

"Roxas, you're an idiot."

I sat stunned for a moment, unable to fully comprehend what just happened. Axel stood up to his full height and looked down at me with a somewhat serious look on his face. It was only after a few weird seconds of staring at each other that I jumped to my feet and faced him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" I demanded.

"Look, don't get hostile with me, man," he said calmly, firmly grasping my shoulders and moving me back a couple steps. "This isn't really one of those things I can just spoonfeed to you; at least, not right now. I really think you can figure this one out on your own, but I suppose if it still seems to be an issue later on, and I do mean not anytime in the immediate future, then I can tell you."

I unclenched my fists and relaxed my body a bit. Axel seemed relatively calm for someone who almost got attacked because I lost my cool.

"Anyway," he added, reaching under my bed to retrieve…a rope? "I've gotta get going; Demyx and I have a gig tonight. I'd invite you but you look like you're not really in the mood to go partying." I shook my head in response, still eyeing the rope in his hands. "Yeah, I thought as much. Well, text me when you've calmed down a bit."

With that, he walked over towards my window and tied the rope onto something sturdy before rappelling down the side of my house. I was a bit too dumbfounded to immediately go over to the window. I thought he said he knocked on the front door and asked Ven to let him in. I literally have no idea what is going on right now…

"Oh," he called up as he made his way down to the street, "and don't forget to let me know how your date with Naminé goes!"

He threw a thumbs-up in the air before jumping over a garbage can and hurrying off. Wow, Axel sure knows how to make an exit. Me? I'd probably just say something that isn't too exciting before making my leave. At least he gave me something to think about.

* * *

This didn't turn out exactly as I expected, but that isn't to say I'm unhappy with it, I just wasn't sure how it was going to play out. Regardless, I thought it was believable enough, and my aim was to shed some more light on Roxas and Xion while still leaving the Naminé plotline and Organization plotline apparent. I also love making Axel do silly things; it just seems so in character for him to do so :)

Thanks to my reviewers!

**That One Anon: **Ah, my mistake; it seems that both you and the other anon reviewed the last chapter, so I can see that you are indeed two different people. That brotherly interaction was actually added mostly because of what you said :P. I try to please people when I can, as long as I can incorporate their suggestions in a believable way. As for selling myself short, well, I've always been hard on myself in terms of criticizing my own work so usually the things I do are better than what I make them out to be, like this story (apparently [See? I can't even say that without feeling weird]).

**Aiko3koutaforever: **Heh, I didn't think that ending was so much suspenseful as it was…ambiguous. Regardless, I'm happy if it hooked you even more so!

**Anon: **Hey, as long as you continue the support, I don't mind if you miss reviewing one chapter :P. Having regulars is cool, and I've shuffled through quite a few 'regulars' for this story, so as long as you're still reading and enjoying, then I'm happy! You (and I'm guessing many others) might be unhappy with how Roxas and Naminé's relationship is going at the moment, but things will start picking up again; after all, I couldn't have them get together when it's still so early in the school year!

**DarkAceKirby: **Thank you very much! It's relieving to know that people respond to my attempts at humour since I don't consider it one of my stronger aspects. I'm sure you'll be glad to see that you reviewed the day I posted this chapter :P

Thanks for reading and please review!

_-GengaJupite_


	13. I didn't even know sea cucumbers peed!

I dunno why, but it feels like a long time since I last wrote a chapter for this. Maybe it's because I'm tired, or maybe it's because I haven't done anything but watch Studio Ghibli films for the past few weeks. I'm not a big anime fan, but I can't get enough of their films, there's just something special about them. It would honestly be so awesome if they put a _Spirited Away_ world in KH3. I could already picture running around in the bathhouse and swamp bottom and all these other places, and fighting bosses like No-Face. Gah, I'm getting my hopes too high that it'll happen when it more than likely won't; mostly because I don't think Disney has enough rights as only being the North American distributors for some Ghibli films. On a somewhat related note, I had the biggest smile on my face when I was watching _Whisper of the Heart_ because Brittany Snow and David Gallagher (Naminé [KH2] and Riku) are the English voice actors for the leads in that. I also cried watching _Grave of the Fireflies_. I've literally never cried from a movie before that… I'm also somewhat obsessed with _From Up on Poppy Hill_ at the moment. It isn't even Ghibli's best film, but I think it's because I'm too much of a hopeless romantic not to love the young romance story. UmixShun OTP :3

Whoa, more reviews than I was expecting, but that makes me a happy author! :) Responses are at the bottom!

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_I didn't even know sea cucumbers peed!_

"Roxas, could you stop pacing in front of the TV," Ven complained from my bed.

"Sorry," I apologized, but then stopped and turned to him. "Hey, don't tell me what to do in my own room! Why are you even in here?"

"God, you really are nervous," he groaned, pausing his game and tossing the controller aside. "In case you forgot, you asked me to come in and give you advice for your date today."

Right, I don't know why I keep forgetting things. I've just been so worried that something will go wrong, and I want to make sure that Naminé has a really good time today. I was relieved enough that she said she still wanted to spend the day with me, so now I had to make sure she didn't regret her decision.

"Well, aren't you gonna start advising, then?" I asked when he didn't say anything else.

"Man, you really are a wreck. Seriously, you couldn't have asked Axel for advice while he was here?" I glowered at the memory of yesterday night's conversation with Axel. "Besides, I don't know what you want me to tell you."

"Just…" I sighed and slumped into a chair. "I don't know either. I'm just really nervous about taking her out today. I can't screw things up with her again, I just can't!"

"It doesn't seem like that's a huge issue between you guys," Ven reassured. "And you made up after two days! Geez, I knew you liked her, Roxas, but you make it sound like you're in love with her or something crazy like that!"

Try as I might to stop it from happening, I knew my face turned red as a tomato at that comment. Did I really sound so desperate? I kind of knew I was strung out, but were my actions really making other people think I had fallen that hard for Naminé? I should probably tone down my angst a little bit…

"Anyway, run me through your plans for today," Ven beckoned, though he clearly didn't seem to care. "I'll see if there's anything I can help you decide on."

I took a deep breath and stood from my seat, starting to pace again; it's a bad nervous habit of mine. Ven looked on in a weird way that seemed he was intently listening, but also incredibly uninterested.

"Well, we aren't going out 'til just after noon. I figured I'd pick her up and we could go to the boardwalk amusement park," I started, glancing at Ven to see his reaction. He simply nodded, apparently finding nothing wrong with the first part of the plan.

"We'll probably stay there for a few hours," I continued, "and I figured that since we're already there we could take a walk on the beach and get ice cream or something."

"Okay, lemme stop you there for a sec," Ven interjected, sitting up straight. "Now, other than the fact that it sounds ridiculously cheesy, do you really think going for a walk on the beach is such a good idea? I mean, that's where your…incident occurred, isn't it?"

I felt the edges of my mouth tug upwards into a small smile. To tell the truth, I'd actually been thinking that exact thing this whole morning, so at least I wasn't being overly paranoid if Ven had the same thought. The only thing is that it doesn't really tell me what we could do instead.

"Here's what I think," he went on, realizing I wasn't going to say anything in response. "Take her to that 'Celebration of Worlds' fair thing they have going on at the far side of town. It's supposed to be pretty cool, and then if you still want to walk on the beach, just drive somewhere a little ways away from the boardwalk park, walk on the sand or whatever, get your ice cream, and then it should be close to sunset by the time you're at the place."

I ran through Ven's plan over in my head a few times. When I thought about it, his was actually quite a bit better, though I never really understood the whole romantic sunset thing. I bet it would make more sense if I hadn't spent those past few years in a city that's perpetually stuck at that time of day. Well, I guess as long as Naminé thinks it's romantic, then it doesn't really matter what I think of the situation.

"Heh, you seem a lot more prepared for my date than me," I chuckled. "Wanna go instead?"

"Pfft, lame joke, bro," Ven laughed back, tossing a pillow at me. "She'd know it isn't you the moment I say hi."

"Nah, I think she'd notice as soon as she sees you," I said mischievously.

"Why's that?"

Well, if there was ever a time for me to be an asshole, it was now. Personally, I never thought I'd actually make the joke, but it was too opportune to pass up.

"You're too fat."

"…That joke's getting real old…dick…"

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The ticking of the clock in front of me was driving me insane, but also egging me on in some weird way. _Tick…tick…_12:55… I kept contemplating in my head if I should leave at exactly 1:00 or maybe a few minutes late. Actually, it'd be more punctual for me to be early; no, she might not be ready if I show up early. If I'm late, though, she might think I'm just lazy! Gah, this is so stupid, I shouldn't be this jittery!

I'd been sitting in the living room for the past hour or so, nervously tapping my foot while staring at the clock. Ven hadn't been much help other than reworking my plans for the day. He might've helped more had I not called him fat, and I'm kind of regretting that I did…_kind of_…

_Tick…tick…_12:56…

I don't know if time is going too quickly or too slowly at this point! I'm anxious to get going, and yet I'm terrified. I shouldn't be; after all, I have gone out with Naminé before, but something keeps making me feel like throwing up… Nerves? Probably. Ugh, I wish I could treat this date like I did with Xion…actually, scratch that; that date didn't end so well. Phew, get it together, Roxas, just take some deep breaths and tell yourself "it's just a date with the girl you like."

"It's just a girl with a date I like…" I mumbled. "Crap, why can't I freaking focus?!"

_Tick…tick…_12:57…

Commence the hair pulling. Maybe I should change my shirt, this one's getting a little sweaty, and by little I mean a disgusting amount…

Running upstairs to my room, I threw my current shirt into the wash basket and turned to look at myself in the mirror. I looked like a wreck, what with all the hair tugging and sweating and overall uneasiness for this date. I shouldn't be freaking out so much, but I can't help it. I should probably wipe off some of this sweat before putting on a different shirt. Yeah, good idea, me…

"Roxas!" Ven called to me from his room.

"What?!"

"It's 12:59!"

I could practically see his smug expression as he laughed over my flustered behaviour. What a jerk, I don't regret calling him fat anymore. Using a random towel that was lying on the floor, I wiped down my torso, reapplied some deodourant, and grabbed the closest button-up I could find. Blue and white, plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up? Not bad considering I just grabbed it without really looking. Quickly doing it up, I rushed downstairs and basically flew into the driver's seat of my car. Sighing in relief when I saw the car's clock change from 12:59 to 1:00, I calmed myself as best I could and drove off.

As if I wasn't nervous enough already, but I somehow managed to let the fact that she lives in the rich section of town slip my mind. I slunk in my seat a bit as the mansions glared at me with their diamond-rimmed windows, practically screaming superiority in my face.

I shook my head and concentrated on the roads. Focus, Roxas, just keep your eyes on the prize. You're an upper-middle class teenager who's about to take out your secretly super rich, super smart, super intimidating math teacher's attractive daughter… Wow, I think I'd better not focus quite so much…

I pulled into the visitor spot in front of their mansion and fiddled around with some of the buttons and stuff inside my car. Nerves are the worst things in life, honestly. This would be a great time to have some practice-weapon combat, because I would love to just get rid of my nerves by whacking someone repeatedly with a keyblade. Well, it's 12:30…might as well get this over with.

Stepping out from my car, I bumbled up towards the front door and rang the doorbell. Oh, god, please, Mr. the Wise, don't answer the door. Please let it be Naminé or Quistis or, for goodness' sake, Larxene even!

At the sound of the doorknob turning, I immediately straightened my posture and held my breath, pretty much expecting Mr. the Wise to answer. However, I released my held breath at the sight of Quistis instead.

"Hello, Roxas," she greeted happily. "You look very dashing today."

"Hehe, um, thank you," I responded awkwardly, stepping in after she gestured for me to do so.

"Who's at the door, dear?" boomed that oh-so-familiar voice I had been dreading to hear from another room.

"It's just Roxas, Ansem," Quistis called back nicely. Damn, if she weren't so kind, I'd hate her for telling him it was me.

"Roxas!" Mr. the Wise's voice resounded from the top of the stairs. I looked up to see him in…casual clothing? That's weird; he always wears a suit to work… "Here to see Naminé, I presume?"

"Y-Yes, sir," I stuttered back, re-straightening my posture. "W-We're actually g-going out today."

"Are you now?" he questioned in that unintentionally devious tone of his as he speedily descended the stairs. Before I knew it, he was standing next to Quistis, facing me. "And what exciting things did you have planned for the two of you?"

I gulped and tried my best to come up with an answer that wouldn't make it sound like a date. "W-Well, I don't want t-to spoil much in case she hears… I was planning on t-taking her to the Celebration of Worlds, though."

"Gaha!" he guffawed loudly, nearly making me jump at the sound. "Sounds like the perfect start to a date!" Guess it sounded like a date anyway…

"No, sir!" I jumped to defend myself from his mirthful wrath. "W-We're just spending the day together as friends!"

"Ehe, don't play me for a fool, boy, I know a date when I see one," he said, smirking devilishly the entire time. Oh, god, forgive me Naminé, and goodbye, cruel world.

"Oh, go easy on the poor kid, Ansem," Quistis lightly scolded her husband. "You're only assuming this is a date because that's where you took me on our first one! Let kids be kids!"

Huh, it seems weird to imagine Mr. the Wise going on a date. I can't even picture him being young, considering the fact that he still has a full head of rather luscious, non-grey hair and hardly any wrinkles. He's probably in his fifties, but, man, has time been kind to him. Makes me wonder how old Quistis is, since she seems younger than she probably is as well. I wonder if Nam and Larxene will age as well as their parents. I certainly wouldn't complain about looking only thirty-something when I'm fifty!

Wait, why am I even thinking about this…

"Oh, Roxas, you're here!" I heard Naminé's voice call from upstairs. Using it as an excuse to look away from Mr. the Wise, I instantly shifted my gaze up to her. "I'll just be down in a minute!"

Maybe it's a minute in real time, but a minute standing here while her father interrogates me feels like an eternity. She'd better have a good reason for this. Mr. the Wise, please stop staring at me like that…

"So, not a date, eh?" he questioned, the smirk still remaining on his face. "And here I thought you and Naminé were very close."

"We are, sir! We're extremely close…except not in the way of infatuation or anything! I think of her as a best friend, that's all!"

"Heh, you certainly are jumpy today, Roxas," he grunt-chuckled in amusement. "To be frank with you, I'm just glad she is doing something other than painting inside all day. She doesn't get quite as much fresh air as I would hope."

"Dad!" Naminé whined as she sauntered down the stairs. Hey, what do you know; it actually did feel like only a minute. "Ready to go, Roxas?"

"Yeah, if you're ready!" I said happily, hopefully not sounding too eager to leave.

"Okay, then, let's go," she said, pulling me out the door by the wrist. I don't know what compelled me to do so, but I turned back, only to regret seeing Mr. the Wise giving me a death glare. Yeesh, I'll make a note never to go past hugging Naminé in front of him.

"Heh, you seem like you wanna get out of here pretty badly," I chuckled, noticing her tugging on my arm.

"Only because my dad was pestering you," she said in a tone that would usually betray her timid nature. "And I didn't want him to keep saying things about me."

"Oh? What sort of juicy secrets does he like sharing?" I jeered.

"Nothing you're allowed to know about!" she giggled as she let go of my arm. "So, where are we going?"

"Well, aren't you just bursting with life today?" I laughed, getting into the car.

She also laughed back, and it warmed my heart to see just how comfortable she was around me. I know for a fact she would never be so bubbly around other people, and it was made especially heartwarming since it wasn't too long ago that we were in that whole almost-kissing scenario. Pulling out of the driveway, we headed off in the direction of the Celebration of Worlds Fair.

"Um, Roxas?" Naminé spoke somewhat quietly. "You never answered my question from before."

"Hm? Oh, about where we're going?" I answered, glancing to my right to see her looking at me in a curious way. "Heh, can't you wait until we get there? It's a surprise."

The expression remained on her face, and I wondered if it really was a big deal to her. "You…you aren't taking me to the beach again are you?"

Ouch, that sounded a little more fearful than I would have liked. "Um, not 'til later, and don't worry, I won't try and kiss you or anything. I thought we had that all figured out."

I breathed out lightly when her expression formed into a shy smile. "I know, I just wanted to make sure."

For the rest of the drive, that last statement left me with an odd feeling. I was happy that she wasn't feeling skeptical of my actions, but it also made me feel a little upset that she was so insistent on staying friends. I know that I need to be patient with her, but all these signs are making it seem like she might never want to be anything more than just friends.

Thankfully my mixed feelings disappeared when we pulled into the parking lot near the site. Lots of big, colourful tents and stands were set up around the arboretum, each with their own theme. I'm sure both Naminé's face and mine lit up at the mere sight of all the attractions and such going on here. This was a good call on Ven's part; I'll have to thank him later…well, if I feel like it.

"Oh, I love the Celebration of Worlds!" Naminé said enthusiastically as we stepped out of the car.

"Really?" I asked. "I thought it might be too crowded for your taste. I was worried you might not want to stay here."

"Nope!" she said with a big grin on her face, forcing me to return the gesture. "It's a pretty big space, so I've never had a problem with this fair."

Chuckling lightly, we walked towards the entry arch and checked the big event board they had set up. Looks like there would be quite a few cool things going on today: a fire-eating and knife-juggling show over by the Agrabah setup, a tournament at the Olympus site, some kind of crazy anti-gravity chamber at the Deep Space spot, to name a few.

"So, what'd you wanna hit up first?" I asked as we looked around the immediate area.

"Mm, it doesn't really matter to me," she said, smiling up at me. "Have you ever been to this, Roxas?"

"Uh, not for quite some time," I shrugged as I told her. "I never really had a way of getting here back in middle school, and then I haven't been here for the past few years."

"Okay, well, there's probably a lot of neat stuff you've missed out on since you were last here!" she said, grabbing me by the wrist again and leading the way towards the Atlantica section. Geez, she certainly seems unlike the timid girl I'd gotten used to, not that I dislike her for it.

From the look of it, there wasn't a huge amount actually at this section, so I was curious as to why she wanted to bring me over here first. She giggled cutely as we childishly played with some of the anemones and such in the touch tank. I picked up a sea cucumber and laughed as it squirted some water onto Nam's arm; it didn't help me stop laughing when the attendant said that it was actually peeing. I didn't even know sea cucumbers peed! Obviously Naminé didn't take it quite so well, and she stuck a starfish on my arm, which was actually somewhat painful to remove… Ah, well, that's karma, I suppose (even though I didn't try to make the thing pee on her…hehe…).

As I was washing my hands, I saw Naminé talking to one of the attendants, who gestured for us to follow after her. Curious to see why Nam was smiling so warmly to me, I followed without hesitation. We were led to a hidden staircase over by the lake, and the attendant got us to walk down. At that point I was getting a little skeptical, seeing as we were walking down a secret staircase that looked like it went into a dark pit of nothingness… However, I wasn't going to look like a wimp by not going since Naminé descended right away.

Wow, I am really glad that I didn't wuss out back there. As soon as we got to the bottom of the dark staircase, a big underground room lit up with ocean-themed lights and small aquariums. I'm pretty sure my mouth was hanging open in awe at the wonder of everything around me.

_Click!_

Naminé giggling and a bright flash snapped me out of my wonderment, and I looked down to see her holding a camera.

"If you're gonna take my picture, you should get it from my good side," I joked, snobbishly turning away from her for added effect.

"Heehee, stop it, you," she continued giggling. "I bet you were so amazed by the little fish tanks that you didn't even bother looking up."

"Up?" I asked, but looked up anyway.

Then my jaw dropped again.

I have no idea how the builders would have done it, but the bottom of the lake was actually above us, a glass bottom covering this large portion that we were under. I watched as rainbows of fish darted around, hiding in rock formations and such that we could see into from below. The whole idea of it all made the world seem upside down, and I was oddly fine with that. It was a spectacular view, and not even another bright flash and Naminé's giggling could take me out of this trance.

"How did you even know this was here?" I asked her once my amazement had died down a bit.

She smiled a bit as she recalled a memory. "My father and I stumbled upon the staircase by accident when I was little," she stated happily. "It was when we first moved here, and the fair was going on. We were just wandering around the area when we found the place. Turns out the attendants all know about it, and they'll let people who know about it in."

"Wow," I breathed, casting my gaze back around the room. "I guess there aren't a lot of people who know about it then."

"No, but it's a nice retreat from all the stuff going on up there," she said. "I thought I should show you because you needed to experience something unforgettable."

Turning to look at her, I couldn't help the smile forming on my face even if I tried. Taking a step closer, I squeezed her hand lightly and uttered to her, "Thank you, Naminé. Heh, and here I thought I was the one trying to show you a good time today."

She blushed prettily at my touch and bashfully glanced away from me. I just chuckled and let go of her hand before wandering about the room a bit more.

After spending an ample amount of time gawking over everything, we headed back up to the fair to go see what else was around. As before, I let Naminé lead me around, seeing as she seemed to have specific stations she wanted me to see.

As we were heading to the next area, however, a smoothie stand caught my attention. Now, I wasn't particularly thirsty or anything, but what made me look over was the big advertisement for "NEW PAOPU FRUIT SMOOTHIES!" I knew the old saying about sharing paopu fruits with someone, and, as cheesy as it sounds, I've heard multiple stories from married couples regarding the fruit. I mean, I'm not looking to get married to Naminé or anything…at least not right now…or anytime soon…if at all… Wow, okay, I think I'm blushing pretty hard…

"Roxas?" Nam asked when she noticed I had stopped walking. "Whoa, your face is really red. Are you getting heat stroke or something?!"

"N-No, it's nothing!" I sputtered quickly in response. "I, uh… I think I just need to get a drink. I'll be back in a sec!" Well, at least it was a decent excuse to get a smoothie. Now there's just one problem.

I've never been too fond of paopus…

They're kinda tangy and sour, which normally I wouldn't mind because I like kiwis, but there's just something about the flavour of a paopu that I'm not big on. I mean, I'm already pushing the old legend because technically Naminé and I would have to eat the fruit together, not drink it in a smoothie form, so if I added some other fruits into the drink to dilute the flavour, well, that seems like taking it too far. Then again, it's a legend that hasn't been methodically proven or anything, so…

"Roxas?" said a familiar voice as I walked up to the stand. Snapping out of my thought bubble, I focused to see a familiar pair of heterochromatic eyes.

"Huh, Yuna? You work here?"

"Sorta, I'm just volunteering while the fair's here for the week," she said nonchalantly. "Tidus is here somewhere too, but he's been switching stations all day."

"Heh, bummer. I guess you guys were trying to work the same station, hey?"

"Yeah, but it's fine. Anyway, you came here with Naminé, right?" she asked, nodding towards said girl a little ways away from me. I nodded in response. "Heehee, I see how it is. Don't worry, I'll whip you up exactly what you came over here for," she giggled, dropping a few star-shaped fruits into the blender.

"Hehe, um, thanks I guess," I said sheepishly, casting an awkward glance back to where Naminé was standing. "Hey, uh, not to sound weird or anything, but do you think there's a way to make it taste any different? Paopu…isn't my favourite flavour."

Yuna gave me a puzzled look, but shrugged and scooped some kind of yogourt-looking stuff into the mixture before blending it all together. Giving her the right amount of munny and thanking her, I took my smoothie and quickly headed back to Naminé.

"You okay now?" she asked once I was at her side again.

"Heh, yeah, sorry about that," I apologized, playing it off as though it really had been the heat.

"So what flavour did you get, anyway?" she asked, taking a look at the yellowish concoction in my hands.

"Uh, to be honest, I have no idea," I chuckled, taking a sip; ah, good, that yogourt stuff sure did the trick (assuming that's what hid the flavour). "Yuna made it for me without saying what she put in it."

"Yuna's over there?" Naminé asked, glancing back to see the brunette. "Hm, well, I don't know her that well, so I can't say if that sounds weird or not."

I just shrugged while sucking on the straw. "I think it's fine, and it doesn't taste weird or anything," I said truthfully. "Want some?"

"No, I'm okay," she declined, leaving me with a feeling of failure.

"You sure? I don't think I can drink all of this," I taunted in a playful manner.

"You should've gotten a smaller size, then," she replied, seemingly unaware of what I was trying to do.

"Haha, hey, that's Yuna's fault, not mine!" I laughed. "Besides, it's really gooood! You're missing out!"

"Roxas, stop being weird!" she giggled.

"Afraid of getting boy germs?" I jeered, hoping that she wasn't catching on.

"What are you, five years old?"

"Heh, if you take a sip, I'll act my age; unless, of course, you want me to act like a five-year-old."

She scrunched her face at me in that adorable way before unexpectedly snatching the drink out of my hands. Success! Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, I am indeed quite amazing, if I do say so myself.

"You're a strange one, Roxas," she said, raising an eyebrow as she took a sip.

"Would you have me any other way?" I chuckled, though I felt as though I'd had a conversation like this at some other point.

"No, I like you just the way you are," she said sweetly, leading the way towards our next destination. "I also like this drink, so I think I'll hang onto it."

"Oh, really?" I laughed. "Because you didn't seem quite so eager to take it two minutes ago!"

Both laughing, we headed off for all manner of different stations, Naminé understandably leading the way. I can't say I wasn't a little disappointed that there weren't any other secret hideaways for us to sneak off to, but I was having a good time just doing regular things with her as well.

More importantly, though, I could really tell that she was enjoying herself. Earlier I had thought she was just feeling comfortable talking normally around me, but now I can see that she's also having a good time. I don't think I'd ever seen her so enthusiastic about anything except her art, and even then it isn't in the same way. To see just how bubbly and cheerful she could be when she wasn't being all shy and whatnot made me better understand my feelings for her. In fact, I had to consciously stop myself from making too many little nudges or pokes or any other kind of stupid little hand motions because I didn't want to seem too forward. But, man, was she making it difficult for me.

We spent a good portion of time at each area, making sure to fully experience any sort of attractions they had to offer. The knife-juggling act at the Agrabah section was really cool until Nam forcibly volunteered me to go up on stage with them. Yeah, I thought I was gonna lose my nose… She certainly seemed to think it was funny when they started juggling torches as well… *Sigh* the things I do to make this girl happy.

I can honestly say that I've never laughed so hard at anything when we walked into the big Wonderland tent. Now, it might have just been some of the fumes going around, but I'm almost certain that the people in that tent were just using the theme of Wonderland to hotbox their setup. Honestly, all the decorations and lights were kinda trippy, and the whole thing didn't really seem like our scene. For a second, I thought I saw Marluxia in there, but he disappeared soon after, and with all the crazy stuff happening I couldn't say for sure if it was actually him. We got out of there pretty quick, and I was rolling over in hysterics when Naminé told me that she remembered it being a lot cooler. I had to tell her that that was probably because she got secondhand high with all the stoners in there, and she just blushed while muttering something about never going back to Wonderland.

Everything else about our time at the fair went pretty normally, and before I knew it, it was already getting late, so we made our way back to my car. Part one of the date, check!

"Hehe, we should do stuff like this more often, Roxas," Naminé said happily, popping a small puff of cotton candy into her mouth.

"I'd like that," I responded naturally, sending her a toothy smile. "The day's not over yet, though. I still have a couple more things planned."

"Really? Well, I'm not complaining; I don't think I want today to end," she said, getting into the passenger seat.

I paused before getting into my own seat. Did she really mean that? I'm no expert on reading into expressions and stuff, but I've only heard people say that when they're out with someone they like. Hell, back in Twilight Town, I'd heard it from one or two girls I'd taken out on dates! But…she couldn't possibly like me back, could she? Nam had been making it quite clear that she just wanted to be friends. I mean, why would a girl do something like that if she potentially likes me? I wish girls were a little more straightforward; then again, nothing has exactly been straightforward for this past month.

"Roxas?" I heard Naminé's voice muffled from within the car. "Um, aren't you going to get in?"

"Wha- Oh, sorry, Nam. I just needed a second there."

She shrugged as I opened the door and got into my seat. As we drove off in the direction of the boardwalk park, I tried to steal as many inconspicuous glances at the blonde beside me as I could. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice at all, but I couldn't really get any sort of sign from the way she sat there with a soft smile on her face.

"What's the matter?" she asked after a few minutes. "Do I have something on me?"

Crap, I guess I hadn't been as discreet as I thought…

"Hehe, uh, no, nothing like that," I said, racing through a number of excuses in my head. "It's just…um…you…you look really pretty today. Yeah, that's it."

The pale complexion of her face faded into that familiar reddish-pink colour as she looked from the road to me. I hoped that my own cheeks weren't too visibly red, not that she would really care if they were, but I probably could have said something less embarrassing.

"You…you really think so?" she asked timidly, glancing down at her attire. "This is just normal stuff that I usually wear to school."

I didn't exactly know how to respond. I didn't want to push my luck by saying how pretty she was all the time, but I couldn't just say something like "yeah, you're right." If I did that, I could pretty much kiss any chance of being with her goodbye. Seriously, though, what's a guy to say in a situation like this?

"Well…yeah, if I'm being honest here," I answered sheepishly, trying not to feel too awkward about the whole ordeal. "I mean, I dunno, I guess it just sort of struck me as we were leaving."

She didn't say anything, so I cautiously looked to her. I was relived to see that she didn't look unhappy with that answer, but rather she seemed to be lost in thought as she gazed out ahead of the car. I didn't mind the silence as we drove along; in fact, I was happy to have a bit of time to get all my thoughts in order. I had to make sure I didn't cut it so close again.

It wasn't long before I pulled into a random parking lot that was about a ten-minute walk from the pier. The sun wasn't too low in the sky, and I was happy that things were going on schedule.

"What are we doing here?" Naminé asked as we stepped out of the car.

"There's a good ice-cream place around here," I responded, smiling to her.

"Ice cream?" she questioned before a light chuckle escaped her lips. "Roxas, how can you want ice cream in autumn?"

Heh, I'd forgotten just how long she's lived here for. I guess she's basically a native to Destiny Islands, whereas I'm still just the guy who thinks it's summer all the time.

"Haha, in case you didn't notice," I laughed, gesturing to my attire. "I'm still not exactly used to this tropical weather. Every day here is a hot day to me!"

"I guess I forgot," she giggled. "But you're gonna regret it when it's only 20°C in the winter!"

"...Uh, Nam, the fact that twenty is a low temperature to you says a lot about this place's climate."

Playfully arguing about temperatures and such, we slowly made our way to the ice-cream shop. Despite what I said about it being a good place, I hadn't actually been to this specific parlour before. Honestly, I kind of just wanted an ice cream… When we got in, the place was pretty much empty except for the bored-looking person behind the counter. Naminé nudged me with an I-told-you-so look, but I just smirked and nudged her back. I was going to get an ice cream regardless of the social awkwardness of having one in autumn.

"Oh, customers?" the employee perked up a bit. Heh, must suck working here when there aren't a lot of tourists.

Glancing at the flavours behind the glass, I was surprised to find that they actually served sea-salt flavour here, given that it's more of a Twilight Town specialty. Whaddya know; this place actually is decent!

"You're not getting one?" I asked Naminé after I'd gotten my cone.

"Heehee, no, it's not hot enough out." My melting ice cream begs to differ, Miss twenty-degrees-is-cold. "What'd you get?"

"Thea-Thalt," I said as I licked the sweet but salty deliciousness of frozen blue dairy.

"Sea-salt? Gross, why would you want something salty?!" she laughed while we headed towards the boardwalk.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it!" I laughed, offering it to her. "Have some; it's good!"

"You said that about the smoothie too!"

"Um, I'm pretty sure you didn't give that back after you took a sip."

"Yeah but…a salty ice cream? That just sounds so…so…bleh."

"Thank you for your insightful description, Captain Adjective," I teased, earning a giggle out of her, "but I think you should give this a chance."

"I dunno," she looked at the cone like it was a dirty sock. "You already licked it. I don't wanna eat your slobber!"

"Says the girl who drank my smoothie," I egged her on. "Hurry up, Nam, it's melting!"

"Ugh, okay, fine," she said, delicately gripping onto the cone before taking the tiniest lick I've ever seen.

"Sooo? How is it?" I asked playfully.

"It's…" she paused, apparently trying to think over a proper response, "…salty."

"Hehe…ehehe…that's kind of the point," I chuckled. She really doesn't do well with descriptions. Whatever, she's a visual artist, not a poetic one.

"Heehee, but, um…I guess you were right," she said, smiling warmly with that Roxas-reserved smile I'd grown to love. "It's good. I think it's going to join your smoothie."

"Haha, what?! I thought it was too cold for ice cream!"

"Yeah, but it's never too cold to stop teasing you!"

After a somewhat drawn-out battle to retrieve my frozen treat from her, all we managed to do was waste an ice cream by dropping it in the sand. As tempted as I was to go back and buy another one, I didn't want to seem like some kind of fatty (I'll leave that to Ven). Neither of us was mad at each other for dropping the cone; on the contrary, we were both laughing about how stupid it was to fight for an ice cream for a good few minutes.

As we took off our shoes to walk along the sand, I glanced at Naminé to see how she was feeling about it. To my slight surprise, she seemed completely fine with doing the exact thing that had led to our strange incident a few days ago. Even recalling the incident now still made me blush as my feet stepped across the grainy surface.

"This is nice," I heard Naminé's soft voice float from beside me.

"That's good to hear," I breathed out. "I was worried that you'd be…concerned or something about coming to the beach."

"I was at first," she said, "but I know you're a good guy, Roxas. I'm glad you're my best friend because I know I can trust you not to hurt me."

"Yeah…" I sighed. "Same goes for you."

We talked about all sorts of random little things as we neared the boardwalk; things ranging from Organization XIII to having a twin brother to being an aspiring artist. It was a comfortable walk, no doubt, but I was having trouble trying to stay off the topic of relationships. As much as the idea terrified me, I wanted nothing more than to just tell her that I wanted more than our current friendship was giving us. It's so selfish of me to want something like that, and yet I can't stop feeling as if I've gotten so little since I've been here. I mean, I gave up my old life to come here, and now it's as if it was all for this confusion and heartache that I never thought someone as average as me might have to experience.

Heartache…that's a funny word for someone with a crush. It's sadly more realistic than I'd usually care to admit.

"So, what'd you wanna do first?" Nam's voice snapped me out it. I quickly glanced around to see that we were already standing at the large boardwalk, people walking around all over the place.

"Oh, uh," I stuttered, glancing at the attractions. "Why don't you decide? I don't really mind doing whatever."

"Okay, we should probably go get some ride tokens then," she said, leading me over to the booth.

I paid for our tokens and we made our way around the park, going on pretty much all the non-kiddie rides and playing a few games. I was a little surprised that she wanted to go on the roller coaster and some of the other thrill rides, but for the most part I was still trying to collect all my thoughts. It probably isn't healthy to be thinking about this kind stuff when there are so many distractions around, but I couldn't help it.

The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon when Naminé said she wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. Seeing as we were onto our last token each, I figured we might as well since it was the only thing we hadn't done yet. Maybe it would help me get my mind off of this stuff, though I doubt it.

We took our seats and pulled down the bar before the wheel slowly raised us up towards the sky. I gazed out at the water, rippling in the orange glow of the picturesque sunset. Though I admit that the romanticism of the moment is somewhat dead to me, I can say that the view certainly is beautiful, and a small smile even graced itself upon my lips. The skies were clear, and from where we were I could see across much of Destiny Islands, given that it isn't very mountainous.

The ride came to a halt while we were at the top to let some more people on. As I looked around, my eyes wandered to the girl beside me, of whom I was unaware was looking straight at me. Blushing, I tried my best to sound natural.

"Hehe, uh, what's up?"

"You've been really quiet for the past while," she said softly, a hint of concern in her tone. "Is everything okay?"

The smile that had been on my face faltered a bit, and I turned to look back out at the water again. "Yeah…I've just been thinking is all."

"Thinking about what?" she asked as she leaned forward to re-enter my field of vision.

Could I tell her? Was now really the best time to let her know that I liked her as more than a friend? What would she do if I let her know how I felt, if I placed my hand on top of hers, if I…kissed her here?

Of course I couldn't do that. It was much too soon after our other moment, and I can't possibly ruin things this way. As much as I want to tell her everything, I know that I can't. It's hypocritically funny how I once wanted to learn everything about Naminé and her suspicious little secrets, but now I can't even tell her the one thing that's bursting from inside me. My heart is pounding, and yet it makes me wonder: can a person with so many issues even have a heart?

"It's nothing important," I muttered, giving her my best reassuring smile. "Just some…family issues."

"…You're lying, Roxas," she said, giving me a quizzical look. "I know you too well for you to get away with things like that."

I had to chuckle at her perceptiveness. Certainly I could have expected Nam of all people to pick up on anything I say. I can really only blame myself for that blunder.

"No, really," I said, trying to back up my statement. "There's…something Ven, Sora, and I have to go do next week." While it wasn't what I had been thinking about, it was the truth, and a painful one at that.

"Oh…I see," she mumbled, looking out to the sun as it finally dropped out of view. "I was just worried…that it had something to do with me."

"Why would you think that?" I asked, fearful that I may have given her that impression from my actions.

"I don't know," she let out a breathy chuckle while shaking her head. "You just seemed so happy when we were at the fair, but then your mood dropped when we got closer to here. I thought that maybe I had done something in that time frame that made you upset."

I gave her a puzzled look before relaxing into a soft smile. "Heh, you didn't really do anything other than steal my smoothie. Oh, and my ice cream."

She giggled lightly and turned to me. "Maybe that's what made you upset. I don't know if you're secretly super protective of your food!"

"Not at all," I laughed in return. "If memory serves, I was the one who offered those things to you."

"Offered? More like forcibly insisted!"

"Well, the ice cream was just me playing around, but I really did want you to drink the smoothie."

"Let me guess; you got a paopu smoothie, didn't you?" she said smugly. I was a bit too dumbfounded to respond, but my face said it all, and she broke into some more giggles. "I figured as much when you kept insisting."

"But…if you knew…then why'd you drink it?" I said stupidly.

"Because I wanted to," she responded mirthfully, and the way her eyes sparkled made me get the same feeling from that incident earlier in the week. I gulped quietly as she sidled her way a little closer to me. "I know that saying's just a legend, but I thought that if there was anyone I wanted to have my destiny intertwined with, it would be my best friend, Roxas."

Odd as it may sound, I didn't feel my cheeks heat up in the slightest at her words. It was if we were in the exact same mode that we had been in when we almost kissed; and as awkward as it had been, it was a comfortable feeling of warmth: warmth from the heart. I smiled and didn't stop myself as my hand crept on top of hers. She didn't seem to mind, and simply smiled more brightly at the gesture.

"Sorry, folks! We're having some technical issues; we'll get the ride going again as soon as we can!" a man with a megaphone announced from below.

Honestly, they can take as long as they want.

* * *

Agh, I got behind on this and sort of rushed to get it finished before Sunday ended! Hopefully it doesn't come off as such when you're reading it, but I know there might be a few issues. One I know is present is the style that Roxas' narrative seems to change. I'm not sure what it is, but whenever I write things that have building fluffy moments in them I tend to elevate the language and descriptiveness of the main character's narrative as it gets closer to the moment. I'm sorry if that throws anyone off, but it's an issue that I'm working on :/. I'm also trying to work on adding intentional writing techniques into my stories (apparently I do it by accident, which isn't bad, but I'd like to be more aware of some of them at least :P), so things like the dramatic irony of Roxas' idiocy and the parallelism between Roxas in this chapter and Xion in the other one were intentional.

Oh, and that ending isn't really implying anything, but you're free to think whatever you want since the next chapter isn't a direct continuation off of this one. Just know that they still aren't together :P

Thanks to **roxasduelwielder, aiko3koutaforever, rageaxe195, DarkAceKirby, X-blade025, ICanHazSkillz, killingtex, **and** Anon** for reviewing! You are all lovely people, and I wish I could respond to you all, but many of you had very short reviews (which I don't mind, don't get the wrong idea, there just usually isn't much to say in response to them). I think if I start getting this many reviews per chapter, I'll actually respond, heaven forbid, through PM like a normal person :O. But for this one I'll stick to my old style :D

**Roxasduelwielder: **Please don't be offended, but I actually lol'd when I saw your comment. I suppose not everyone can pick up on the not-so-subtle hints, but maybe reread some of the chapters with Xion in them and it'll be quite a bit more obvious.

**DarkAceKirby: **And the Axel silliness will continue! Well, at least when I deem it appropriate and drama can take a backseat to humour. It's an odd balancing act I'm trying to pull with this story, and I honestly didn't even intend this from the beginning (though I'm very happy that people are so responsive :D)

**X-blade025:** Hey, now, Roxas isn't an idiot; he's just…not…um…okay, yes he is :P. It's only in terms of his own relationships, however, as I don't plan on making him this stupid about anything else. Then again, my original plans for this story went down the toilet once I got started writing it so who knows?

**Anon: **Stuck with you? You make it sound like it's a bad thing. I always enjoy reading your quality thoughts, so I will gladly reapply the glue if you decide to slip off at any point. If anything, my friend, _you_ are stuck with me *inserts overly-attached girlfriend meme (except I'm not a girl)*

Well, thanks for reading and please review!

_-GengaJupite_


	14. Xehanort, Ansem, Xemnas, Xigbar, and me

Aaah! Sorry I didn't reply to anyone through PM, but I've been so behind on writing lately (I just started writing this on Thursday…). I've been really busy doing actual stuff as well as being lazy, so it isn't all on me, though I'll admit that I have been obsessively watching _Clannad_ lately…

That being said… HOLY CRAP DID ANYONE ELSE CHEER FOR THIS YEAR'S E3?! I didn't get to watch the live feed or anything, but I almost jumped up and screamed in joy at work when I saw Kingdom Hearts III finally get announced. I mean, I was already having mini heart attacks over Final Fantasy XV, Super Smash Bros. 4, and X by Monolithsoft, but KHIII was the topper for me. I can honestly say that this has been my favourite E3 in years (and I'm really not only saying that because of KH :P).

Anyway, review responses are at the bottom, and I promise I'll try to respond through PM from now on!

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Xehanort, Ansem, Xemnas, Xigbar, and me_

The first day of rain is always the worst, no matter where you are. I know that it rains occasionally on Destiny Islands, but I was hoping that it might hold off until closer to December or something. I suppose it's fitting, though, given what we're going to do today.

It's been a little under a week since my date with Naminé, and things have been a bit different around school. The good news is that Nam and I have been spending a lot more time together, and she's even been talking to people she never used to, like Terra and Aqua. It might sound weird, but I always feel proud when she breaks out of her shell more and more. It's funny how much having a close friend can change a person, and I couldn't be more pleased that it's me, despite the fact that I'd still like to take our relationship further.

However, that's about the only positive news I have. Everything else is…well, it's a little less than favourable.

Xion's been acting different around me. The way she used to poke fun at me or make quips about my habit of zoning out have been replaced by mopey sighs and utter indifference. Every time I tried to make her laugh or chat with me for more than five minutes, she would always make up an excuse like she had a headache or something like that. When I tried asking Axel about it, his response was simply "Huh, I didn't think she'd let something as typical as this get her down so much." It pisses me off that he still won't tell me what's up, but I guess I just have to try harder to figure it out.

Let's see, other bad stuff…hmm… Oh! The Organization gave Xion and I a couple packages to deliver throughout the week. Now, normally that would be good news, but with Xion being all weird around me, I pretty much had to go meet a bunch of shady people by myself… Thankfully nothing happened, but I could see it in their eyes that they were all thinking something unpleasant. I guess Xion wouldn't have been able to protect me, but it's always nice to have someone around for things like this; but she hasn't even been helping with the posters that Naminé, much to my relief, agreed to help out with/do for us.

And then there's today: the day Ven, Sora, and I go with Aunt Aerith to visit Vanitas in the hospital. I feel bad enough as it is seeing him in his condition, but it's heartbreaking to see how Sora and Aunt Aerith put on their bravest faces when they're around him. Frankly, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, I can't even remember how long Van's been in the hospital for. I know it's been at least a couple years now, but I can't say anything else for sure. I wish I could've been here when it happened, though. I didn't even know how to react when Mom called me at Twilight Town.

I never got the exact details for what happened to him, only that it had something to do with a fight. I've never really had the gall to ask anyone about it because I didn't think that it would be something that anyone wants to discuss. Still, it must've been something really serious for a fight to get that blown out of proportion. He's only a year older than us, after all!

Ven, Sora, and I skipped out on our last class because Aunt Aerith wanted to go see Van as soon as she got off work, which I guess was early today. The three of us stood under the front entrance's roof while we waited for her to arrive for us. No one said anything; we simply stared at the road as the warm rain splashed along the little rivers flowing down the concrete. I stole a glance to Ven and Sora, noting their expressions. It isn't odd to see Ven with a blank look on his face, but for someone as animated as Sora it's just…strange. He's always goofing around in some way or another, so to see him in such an expressionless state is odd, almost painful even.

After a few minutes, we watched as the headlights of our ride shined in the pickup area, and we dashed to the car so as to avoid getting soaked by the rain.

"Hello, boys," Aunt Aerith greeted plainly as we clambered into our seats, "do you have all your things?"

"Yep," we all answered in unison. Responding only with a nod, she began the silent, depressing drive to the hospital.

I stared out my window for most of the drive, watching the rain hit the glass before trickling downwards. Since I usually only went to the hospital with them during the summer months, it feels different and that much more unhappy going on a rainy day. To think that we'd just come from a place filled with friendly people and overall warmth is unfathomable as we drive down these rainy streets. All the petty squabbles, the drama, the slight unpleasantness of seeing people you don't like every day, and whatever else is inclusive of high school life gets left behind as we drive somewhere that seems without hope.

And it makes me wonder: wonder about how everyone else must feel when they deal with these sorts of things. Vanitas isn't my older brother, nor is he my son, so how can Sora and Aunt Aerith exude such exuberance and endearment every other day? I shouldn't feel bad that I feel bad, but knowing that my cousin isn't in great condition is painful, even if we never were that close. I have no idea how they deal with this on top of Uncle Zack's passing. Poor Sora, having to deal with a parent's death. Xion's dealt with death, Naminé's dealt with death, hell, I bet everyone I've gotten close to at school has had to deal with it!

"Alright, we're here," Aunt Aerith sighed when we pulled into the parking lot. Ven and I eyed her and Sora, watching as they both closed their eyes and took a few deep breaths before unbuckling their seatbelts and getting out. Glancing at one another, the two of us followed suit.

I think Sora and my aunt must come here a lot more often than once a month, because, despite the size of the hospital, they seemed to know exactly where they were going. Ven and I followed behind, casually glancing at the signs that pointed to where we were going. The walk felt longer than I remembered, and the sudden realization that I hadn't been here since last summer (since I stayed in Twilight Town this past one) made my footsteps grow heavier. Would Vanitas seem different, look different, _be_ different? After such a long time would he…would he even remember who I am?

"Ah, Mrs. Destati," the receptionist at our area said, "and Sora, too. The four of you can go on in."

Muttering only a simple thank you, we kept walking, heading towards the doors we'd just been cleared to enter through. The fact that the receptionist knows my family just by seeing them is already a sad reminder of how often they must come here, or at least how often my aunt does.

With that thought in mind, I kept my chin up as well as I could as we passed through the doors under that sign that read **MENTAL WARD**.

It was difficult for me to keep my spirits high as I looked around at the semi-familiar sights of the ward. Everywhere around me there were patients with severe mental disorders and disabilities, most of which were serious enough that they needed a caretaker beside them at all times. I did my best to ignore all the odd groans, mutterings, and just general unpleasant sounds of each person. Really, none of that was what bothered me about this place.

What made me uncomfortable was that everyone was old.

Well, maybe not _old_ old, but the age range seems to be from people in their mid thirties and up. I know it shouldn't bother me, but knowing that Vanitas, who's only turning eighteen this year, is in here with all these severely damaged people is…it just doesn't seem right.

As we walked towards the end of the room, a doctor took notice of us and quickly came to greet us. "Hello again, Mrs. Destati. Good to see you."

"Good afternoon, Doctor. Is…is Vanitas doing alright?" she asked solemnly.

"Hmm," he pondered, glancing down at the clipboard in his hands, "he seems the same as usual. As I've said before, we're quite fortunate that his condition doesn't appear to be worsening, but I'm afraid that he shows no signs of recovery either. Here, I'll take you to him."

Aunt Aerith nodded halfheartedly. Having already heard that news before, she must be used to the response. If anything, she asked so that Ven and I could hear how our cousin is doing. I looked to Sora, but again he had that oddly blank look on his face, staring straight ahead as we walked into a different section of the ward.

"Van?" the doctor stated nicely as he knocked on the wall, indicating our arrival. "You have some visitors today."

Though it's been such a long time, I still recognized the raven-haired Sora-lookalike sitting on the ground as he fumbled around with a puzzle of sorts. He didn't respond to the doctor's greeting, keeping his golden eyes focused on the jigsaw pieces in front of him. I watched as his shaking arm reached for a piece and tried to fit it into a spot; however, when it didn't fit, he instantly got angry and punched at the puzzle, screaming obscenities at the wooden pieces in front of him. Some people might laugh, thinking it's funny how a grown person like Van would get so upset over something so childish as a jigsaw puzzle, but I couldn't find the humour in it at all.

"Vanitas," his mother greeted soothingly once his tantrum was over. "Vanitas, how are you doing?"

The sound of his mother's voice seemed to grab his attention, and slowly he lifted his head from the mangled square on the ground to the five of us standing by the entrance.

"Muh…muh…M-Mom…" he stuttered quietly, his mouth forming into somewhat of a shaky smile. "And Sora…and Ven…and…and…R-Roxas?"

"I'll give your family some privacy," said the doctor, bowing his head as he turned and left.

Aunt Aerith quickly went up to her son and wrapped him in a hug, which Van initially seemed surprised by, but slowly returned after. Sora, Ven, and I stepped towards them, though a bit more carefully than my aunt had. I remembered once how a doctor had said that we needed to be careful with Vanitas because he had some serious frontal lobe damage. I don't know much about the brain, but judging from the times I've seen Van, it supposedly makes him irritable, unable to fully plan any sort of processes, and he doesn't seem to understand the consequences of making a good or bad decision. I'd rather not think about the times that drew me to those conclusions, but the fact that he threw a fit over being unable to complete a jigsaw puzzle should be conclusive enough.

"How're you doing, bro?" Sora asked as cheerily as he could when Van and Aunt Aerith released each other.

"Sora…" Van breathed out, shakily standing up. "You…you…"

And then without warning, Van violently grabbed onto Sora's collar, his eyes blazing in a strangely unprovoked fury. Ven and I jumped back, but Sora remained calm, staring back at the ire that was Van's glare.

"You still owe me munny, you shit! Give it to me! I need it now!"

"Van, calm yourself," Sora sighed, firmly grasping Van's arms and pulling them off his collar. I watched in slight awe as Vanitas suddenly started whimpering and leaned onto his younger brother's shoulder. He didn't seem to be crying, however, just saying something to Sora that I couldn't make out.

"Where's Dad?" he asked suddenly. "Is he busy working today?"

"Oh, Van," Aunt Aerith squeaked, wrapping him in another hug. "He's…he's not coming again… I know he'd want to see you, though."

"Okay, Mom," he said blankly. I don't know for sure if his memory has been affected as well, but it seems as though he can't remember that Uncle Zack passed away. My guess is that Van's incident happened too soon after his father's passing for it to stay in his damaged brain.

Helping him walk back to his bed, Van lay down and used the remote to prop himself up to look at all of us. It's so strange; there's such confusion in his eyes, yet he knows who all of us are. It's as if he knows where we are but can't comprehend why we're here, or more specifically why he's here instead of at home. It's just my theory, though, since Van's never actually said anything about wanting to go home or even taken notice that this place is a hospital.

"Ven…Roxas…" he said after a moment or two. "It's been a long time…"

"Yeah, it has," Ven answered, smiling as best as he could. "It's been a month since I've been here, and Roxas hasn't seen you in a year."

Vanitas, however, seemed to ignore Ven's response, continuing with his own thoughts. "Ten years… Ten whole years…" he breathed out. "We used to play in the backyard. Usually I had my own friends, but sometimes I played with you."

"Van," I said quietly, getting his attention, "it hasn't been that long. Last time I saw you we talked about my life in Twilight Town, remember?"

He blinked, staring confusedly at me with his golden irises until a lightbulb seemed to go off over his head. "Oh, that's right, you were in Twilight Town by yourself. But you're here now, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be here right now."

I nodded, a small smile tugging my lips upwards at the fact that he remembered. "Yeah, I go to school here now. I'm friends with all of Ven and Sora's friends, and I even met some people from some Organization club."

At the mere mention of the Organization, Van's eyes blazed with fury again, and he grabbed at my wrist, pulling me towards him with an unexpected amount of strength. I gasped at the sudden movement, and the others were quick to try and calm him, but he ignored their pleads, burning holes into me with his fiery gaze.

"Organization…" he growled, inching his face closer to mine so that our eyes locked. "The same Organization?!"

"I-I don't know, Van!" I stuttered back, confused fear evident in my voice. "I just met them!"

"Xehanort…" he muttered.

"I…I don't know anyone with that name," I said, shaking my head.

"Ansem…"

"I don't know a teenager named that."

"Xemnas…"

My eyes went wider than they already were when he uttered that name. I was too shocked to even say anything, and I'm not sure if Van understood that since he went on to name another person. It seemed as though he was simply listing off the names more than he was actually paying attention to my responses.

"Xigbar…"

So it was true; there really had been an original Organization before Xemnas became the leader, changing it from simply 'The Organization' to 'Organization XIII'… I never doubted when Xion had told me about it, but I didn't really put much thought into how it might affect me in such a way. Perhaps this was that odd feeling of relevance I experienced when she told me. The only thing, though, is that she mentioned that there were five people, and Van just listed off four. Could that mean… No, the fifth…it couldn't…it just couldn't be…

My heart sank into the pit of my stomach, however, when Van continued on with one final word that put the final piece of my suspicions together. Though he couldn't put together his own puzzle, Van had inadvertently helped solve the puzzle that had been lingering in the back of my mind for this past while that I've been going to this school.

"Me…"

"Van," I muttered, "you five…you-"

"The original Organization… Xehanort, Ansem, Xemnas, Xigbar, and me, Vanitas…"

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

The entire car ride home was silent, just as it had been on the way to the hospital. My head and heart raced at the idea that I'd just found a vital clue to discovering the secrets of the Organization. Unfortunately for me, that clue doesn't particularly lead me anywhere. I mean, when I think about it, all I know now is that Vanitas is one of the original five; one of three who were involved in something that got him permanently brain-damaged…

Once Ven and I got home, I shuffled up the stairs to my room and plopped down on the bed. There was so much running through my mind, and I had no idea what to make of it all. Would I have to meet one of these other guys: Xehanort and Ansem? Were they in even worse condition than Van? Were they even involved in the same incident?

I sighed at the sound of the hangers in my closet falling down. It didn't even faze me that it happened; I'd grown used to stuff like this happening by now.

"I'm really confused, Axel," I said aloud, and lo and behold, the redhead stumbled out of my closet, sighing.

"Have I truly become so predictable?" he joked, though one look at my uncaring expression got him serious. "What's up, buddy?"

Would he know? It seems unlikely that Axel would know anything more than Xion about the original Organization. I'm not wont to speaking to Xemnas and Xigbar, so talking to the two of whom were directly involved seems out of the question. I suppose it couldn't hurt to ask Axel; worst that could happen is that he just doesn't know. Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose before saying anything.

"I found out today that my cousin was a part of the original Organization. Ever since some incident involving them, he's been hospitalized because of permanent brain damage."

Axel didn't say anything, and I looked to see him leaning against the wall with a hard look on his face. He stared at the floor a few feet in front of him, arms crossed while he tried to process what I'd just said to him. Obviously this was a lot more complex than what had gone on with Xion, which is why he seemed to be thinking hard on the subject.

"What do you know about them?" I said when I didn't get a response. "I mean, you're the same age as most of them, so you must've at least known who he was back then, even if you weren't in the Organization. If you know anything about any of them, I need you to tell me."

I watched as Axel shut his eyes, the stern expression remaining on his face as he sighed. "Look, pal, I wish I had something to tell you, really I do, but I don't know much about them. Their old leader was some guy named Xehanort, and this other guy, Ansem, was his right hand man. Xemnas, Xigbar, and Vanitas, who I'm assuming is your cousin since he looks exactly like Sora, were just some low-level goons in the club. I've heard Van was on the rise, though, and that's why he was involved in that whole thing that went on with the other two, while Xemnas and Xigbar stayed behind and ended up becoming the new leaders after everything happened."

"But what happened to Xehanort and Ansem?" I questioned further, hoping that Axel might know even a little bit.

"Not sure," he said, shrugging and looking over to me. "All I've ever heard are rumours, but you can never be sure what's what around here. If you really wanna know the rumours, I've heard Xehanort got sent to juvey and he's probably already been transferred to an actual jail now. As for Ansem…there's too many stories to be sure. Some kids say he got shot, stabbed, or beaten senseless. Some say he died, others say he's in a coma at some hospital, and a few people even think he survived and moved away. All the stories say, however, that he took an attack meant for Xehanort or Vanitas. Either way, none of it's been proven, and no one's seen him or Xehanort since."

I honestly couldn't believe what I'd just heard. My eyes had gone wide at hearing Xehanort getting sent to prison, but my jaw literally dropped when Axel said that Ansem was potentially mortally wounded or dead. Falling back onto my pillow, I stared up at the ceiling while I tried to think it all over. It hadn't really explained what happened exactly, but at least Axel's story had informed me of the potential aftermath of the incident. But what could the three of them have been doing that led to such acts of violence and terror?! Van had always been somewhat of the rebellious type when we were growing up but never to the extent that he would get involved with what sounded like a gang fight! Was this what Sora's issue with the Organization was? I don't understand why he never told me.

"Anyway," Axel said, his tone shifting to one that wasn't so dark, "I'm sure you could find out more from Naminé; after all, she'd probably tell you anything."

"Naminé?" I asked confusedly. "What does she have to do with all of this?"

"Nothing," Axel stated flatly, only adding to my confusion, "but she and Larxene tend to know just about everything that goes on in this town, y'know?"

I couldn't argue that point, as Nam had proven time and again to know secrets that she always felt she couldn't let me in on. I had no idea that Larxene was involved with that as well, but it doesn't really make a difference since I won't be going to her with questions. Well, not unless I want them answered sarcastically and insultingly…

"Do you really think Nam would tell me, though?" I asked, thinking it through in my head. "I know she's timid by nature, but she wants to protect me from getting hurt. Even when I met her for that first time at your house, she asked me if joining the Organization would be a smart idea. Was she implying that it could be dangerous?"

"Dunno," Axel shrugged, gracelessly flopping down on my recliner. "But I don't think she would've said something like that just because Ven doesn't get along with them. I bet she knows just as much about the whole incident as Xemnas and Xigbar do. I mean, she did go to counseling with Sora for a while, didn't she?"

"Yeah," I breathed out, realizing how much she probably knew and how much she probably held back to protect me. "I really don't think she'll tell me though. Axel, couldn't you ask Larxene about it or something?"

Axel gave me an odd look and smirked. "Sorry, no can do, man. If I brought up a serious topic like that around her, she'd know something's up. I'd end up having to spill the beans that you wanted to know, and she'd probably beat you up the next day for getting me to do your dirty work."

I groaned in annoyance, but knew he was right. The only thing I can do at this point is to try to get an answer out of Naminé.

And it's that very thing that scares me.

She's always been there for me, looked out for me from the sidelines, and helped comfort me, even if she hasn't always been aware. She's withheld this information because she knows that it could break me, and yet I'd be forcing her to tell me what she knows about it. Would she be able to handle the pressure of confessing? Could I even have the strength and resolve to force the girl I love…the girl I _like_ to tell me something that would cause both of us pain? What would it do to our relationship if I made her do something like that? She's always been so kind and caring to me, and here I am contemplating the nicest way to hurt her. I wish I didn't have to know these answers, but I must. I wish things could have been normal with this school, but they aren't. I wish everyone could just be happy, but no one is.

I wish I had never come back home, but here I am…

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Sorry about the short chapter, but I felt that this was the best place to end it. I didn't want to have Roxas confront Naminé this chapter because I think that would have clumped too much of this one important plot point all into one chapter. I actually feel weird with how short this chapter is, seeing as it's less than half of what the previous one was. Ah, well, hopefully I can make up for it with the next one.

So despite it's length, I'm content with how this one turned out! It's taken me a while (lol fourteen chapters and about 90k words) for me to finally reveal one of the big plot points, but I liked how it came out in writing. Things were getting a little jumbled in my head, so now that I've established sort of how things are starting to tie together, it'll help me really crank out the ideas I've been hoping to go off of with this story! Yay for progress! :D

Thanks for reviewing! Like I said at the top, I'll try to reply through PM to all the non-guests from now on!

**X-blade025: **Well, if you've ever been to Epcot at DisneyWorld, about half the park is basically a cultural version of the Celebration of Worlds. Oddly enough, I wasn't thinking about that when I was writing it, but that's what I thought of as soon as I saw your comment. I know you've been wondering about some of Roxas's questions, so hopefully this chapter tickled your fancy.

**Roxasduelwielder: **Awe, don't be upset :P. Honestly, it's no skin off my nose if you don't know whom Xion likes, and I'm planning on having him find out eventually, so stay on your toes until then!

** .Terra: **Glad you're enjoying the story so much! I'll be honest, the first day you reviewed most of my chapters at once, I nearly crapped myself at how many emails I had! With Roxas and Ven, I didn't have too much planned for them since this story mainly revolves around Roxas, Nam, and the Organization, but I'll do what I can to strengthen their bond. And don't worry about your review length, it's much more than a lot of other people leave me :)

**Anon: **as;lkdjfoajsdfiawlfjsnfd This is your favourite RokuNami, like, fo' reals?! Damn, I'm flattered, truly I am, especially since this story has been somewhat jumping all over the place in my opinion and I've pretty much been writing it as it goes along, with a slight idea of how I want it to end. Very slight. Well, I'll try to keep this story going strong so that you and the others can continue to enjoy!

**DarkAceKirby: **Yeah, this is my normal update rate (every two weeks); you just happened to review the exact same day that I posted that other chapter, so that's why it probably felt like a long time for these last few. I won't say anything about Nam's feelings right now, but you are on the right track with your thinking. Ah, Ansem, always good for comic relief when Axel isn't around :P

**DuelRoxas16: **Thanks for the support! Glad to see you're enjoying it and I hope you'll continue to as it goes along!

Lol, yeah, I'm defs gonna respond through PM to all the non-guests next time. Oh, and I'll say it again in case people get upset that I don't respond or something. If you leave me a short review, I most likely won't say anything in response. It's not that I don't appreciate short reviews, but it's difficult to say anything other than "thanks" if it's something like "I like this. Please update soon." Just keep that in mind if you want to hear back from me; otherwise, thanks for reading and please review!

_-GengaJupite_


	15. Axel is the reason

Goodness me, I really have to spend my time a little more wisely… Trying to get chapters pumped out by Sunday when I start writing them on Thursday is not a smart idea… I blame _Zero no Tsukaima (Familiar of Zero) _and _Sword Art Online_ for taking up all of my time. Curse you, anime, and your overly addicting tendencies!

Anyway, I don't really have anything to say this time around. Review responses are at the bottom!

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

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_Axel is the reason…_

Trying to build up the courage to ask Naminé about the original Organization was taking a lot longer than I'd meant for it to, and before I had even thought out a proper way to confront her about it, it was already the end of October. I knew I shouldn't have put it off for this long, but trying to bring up a touchy subject without making her feel obligated to push me away from it was difficult! It would take more than a simple "Hey, Nam, I was wondering if you could tell me about this incident that completely ruined the lives of three people."

History class had now become my daydreaming class since Xion no longer tried speaking to me and Aqua was usually too busy assisting other people. As concerned as I had been over Xion's lack of friendliness, I had bigger issues on my mind now, so that would have to be dealt with another time. Right now I needed to focus my thoughts on getting information from Naminé.

While the teacher rambled on about some boring stuff, I let my thoughts flow freely. How could I approach the girl I liked so much about something as serious and off-putting as this? I'm making the assumption that she knows anything too! True, she had gone to counseling sessions with Sora, but that doesn't necessarily mean they talked about the details. Even if they had, she would probably direct me to Sora for answers, and I didn't have the heart to make him talk about it.

It makes me wonder, though; is the real conflict between Ven's group and the Organization really because of Sora's bad relations with them? In truth, I've never heard of Sora getting in any scuffles with them; it's always been the other guys. Damn, I thought that learning something about the Organization would have answered my questions, but all it's done so far is create more! If only I could simply know the answers without asking…

The bell rang, snapping me back to reality, and I quickly gathered my things. Today would be like every other day since the hospital visit: I'd go find Naminé and hang out with her for a bit; that way I could ask her about it, or at least spend some time with her until I felt like it was time to do so.

"Roxas."

I tensed slightly as someone grasped onto my wrist. Turning back, I looked to see Xion gazing up at me with that melancholic look in her eyes. I gave her a shaky smile as I looked down at her.

"What is it, Xion?"

"I…" she began, though she glanced away, releasing her hold on me as a light blush crept onto her face. "I was…um…just wondering where you were hurrying off to."

I wasn't so much surprised by the question as I was confused. She had never shown any signs of curiosity as to where I went after class unless she wanted to get together (which of course hadn't been since that date).

"Uh…just heading up to the art room," I answered dumbly, holding a loosely pointed finger in the general direction of the staircase. "I had something to talk to Nam about."

"Oh," she sighed, beginning to pack up her things.

I would feel awkward if I simply left on that note, but I wasn't quite sure what to say to her. I still had no idea what was going on, and she didn't seem to have a reason behind that question. Still, I had to think of something to say, so after a few minutes of cricket-chirping silence, I scratched the back of my head while sputtering out the first thing to come to mind.

"So, have you…hung out with Axel lately?"

"I have to go," she stated suddenly, standing from her desk with her bag. "I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, she hurried out of the room, leaving me in a stupor from her actions. Seriously, what is going on with that girl? I've never seen someone act so…so…strange! I'm not even sure how to describe the way she's been. Heartbroken, perhaps? Then again, she would have had to like someone quite a bit for her to be in this state. I'm just grasping at smoke here, and I'm also wasting time that could be spent trying to interrogate Nam…

Maybe I should've found a better way to word that…

Trying my best to push the confusion with Xion to the back of my mind, I slung my bag over my shoulder and made my way out of the classroom. The school seemed oddly empty today, but it's probably because everyone is out getting ready for the Halloween stuff tomorrow. A smile crept onto my face as I passed by some of the posters Nam had made to advertise the events going on. She'd really outdone herself, especially since school posters are usually half-assed pieces of construction paper with some words scribbled on. Hers, however, look legit.

"Knock, knock," I announced as I stepped into the art room.

"Hi, Roxas," she greeted without looking up from her work. A large, paper canvas was laid out across a row of tables, covered in intricate designs and such.

"Holy crap, Nam," I breathed once I'd gotten a better look at it, "is this for tomorrow?"

"Mhm," she answered shortly, directing nearly all of her attention on it. "I'm almost done, just needs a few finishing touches."

"Yeah, but I only asked you if you could do it today! Even then I was only expecting you to quickly throw something together!"

"Hm? This is mediocre at best, Roxas," she said as her brow furrowed. "It would have looked much better if I'd known about it earlier on."

"Still, one afternoon for all of this…"

Neither of us said anything until she had finished dabbing the last part with her paintbrush. I was still in awe over how she'd managed to get this finished; after all, she only started on it at lunch! The left side of the canvas had a peaceful sunset over the beach, but as it progressed to the right it faded into a nighttime picture with cartoony monsters and the like. Cleverly hidden into the background were the words _Happy Halloween_, and I had absolutely no idea how Naminé had managed to pull this off in just a few hours.

"So, what do you think?" she asked, scrunching her face at the piece.

"Ya done good, kid," I said playfully, ruffling her hair a bit.

She returned my gesture with a slightly annoyed smirk, and quickly swatted my hand away. "Really? I think it looks childish. I can't let this go out where everyone can see it."

I blinked before a chuckle started to escape my lips. "Heh, you aren't entering this in an art contest, you know. It's just a school poster, so even if it did look silly, I don't think anyone would care!"

She scrunched her face at me and turned back to her poster. Honestly, I don't know why she doesn't like it; I mean, I would kill to have even a fraction of her artistic ability. Then again, it probably wouldn't be all that pragmatic since I don't do a lot of things that require any artistic ability… Either way, it'd still be cool.

It took me a little while to remember why I actually came here in the first place, but when I did I instantly felt the nerves creeping up on me again. How would I be able to smoothly shift the topic from her wonderful poster to perhaps one of this school's darkest incidents? I don't think there is a way to ease into this topic, but I'd rather not just spit it out.

"U-Um, hey, Nam?" I stuttered in attempt to form the question into words.

"What is it, Roxas?" she returned sweetly, turning to look me in the eye.

My jaw must have twitched quite a bit as I tried to figure out the words to say, and I felt like an idiot. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks out of the embarrassment I felt of not having thought out how to do this. However, I didn't want to give her the wrong idea, because it could easily be viewed that I might be asking her out or something. I mean, I would like that quite a bit actually, but, again, my motives for this particular conversation are pushing everything else out of the way.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, her face forming into a slightly concerned frown.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I just had to…um…ask you something…" I managed to say, though I still felt completely stupid with the delivery. "It's pretty important."

I guess that's when she started to get the wrong idea about my intentions since her cheeks reddened intensely and her eyes went wide. She didn't say anything, but I could tell she thought I was planning on asking her out. Well, this is what I get for stalling…

"R-Roxas," she began shakily, "you know that I like you a lot, b-but-"

"Hold on, Naminé!" I cut her off, waving my hands in front of me. "Sorry, I was being kind of unclear. I'm not…asking what you think I'm asking; it's actually about something entirely different."

"Oh, phew," she sighed, which caused a slight pang in my heart. "S-Sorry I got so flustered there. What did you want to ask me then?"

For whatever reason, I couldn't seem to focus on what I'd been trying to tell her at that point. I knew what I wanted to say now, but all my mind could think about were my times with the blonde in front of me, and how close the two of us had come to becoming a couple (in my eyes, at least). The words to ask about the Organization were on the tip of my tongue, yet all I could think about was the softness of Nam's skin, the warmth of her hand, and the tingling sensation on my lips as they almost collided with hers…

With all the mental force that I could muster, I pushed past those thoughts and managed to stammer something out. "Y-You used to go to counseling with Sora, right?"

There was a pause after I'd asked that question, and I realized that I had turned away from her out of instinct. Slowly bringing my gaze towards her, I could see her wide-eyed expression staring back at me. A heaviness hung in the air as I waited for her to say something, but she just stared at me as if I'd said something absolutely awful. She knew just how serious this conversation would be if I was bringing up personal issues about my family with her.

It seemed like an eternity before she finally said something, and I had to strain my ears to hear her, even in the silence of the room.

"Y-Yes…did something…happen?"

"Not exactly…" I began, trying to find the simplest way to put it. "Nothing recent, anyway. I was just wondering…did you two…ever talk about what happened to Vanitas?"

She shifted uncomfortably from one heel to the other, and I couldn't stop the feeling of guilt that I knew would inevitably fill my heart once I'd asked her the question.

"We did…" she squeaked, averting her gaze from my own. "The counselor had us share our stories with each other, so I know all about Vanitas and Sora knows all about my mother…"

I could feel the guilt eating away at me, and every second of pained silence made me want to call off my intentions for today and simply wrap my arms around Naminé. This was something that no one would want to relive, but the only way I could learn anything would be to make her and potentially Sora go through it all again.

"I'm sorry…for making you think about these things again," I apologized as sincerely as I knew how. "It's just that…I went with Sora and Ven to see Van a few weeks ago. Vanitas said something to me back then, and it's been eating away at me ever since. I knew Sora wouldn't tell me if I asked, and the only one I thought might know about it was you."

"The Organization…" she said darkly, still keeping her eyes off of me. "That's what he talked to you about, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…"

Before I had much of a chance to react, I felt Naminé's frail body wrap me in a tight hug as she quivered in my arms. I was too stunned to react for a moment, but the sound of sobs escaping her forced me to hold her back gently. I had no idea what had spurned this sudden outbreak, but all I could think of doing in that moment was how best to comfort her. Delicately rubbing her back, we held onto each other as if the fate of the world would tear us apart. Though I wasn't sure why, I could feel my own eyes water at the fact that the person I cared for most dearly was sobbing in my arms. I never wanted to see her hurt this badly, and I certainly never wanted to be the reason she did so.

"I'm sorry, R-Roxas," her muffled voice sounded from my tear-soaked shirt. "I d-didn't mean to break down like this in front of you. I can't b-bear to see you get hurt from all of this!"

"Shh," I whispered, resting my chin on her shoulder. "Don't apologize, Naminé. If anyone's at fault here, it's me. I knew that asking you about this would cause you grief, but, for my own selfish reasons, I had to know about it, even if it meant hurting you."

She sniffled and shook her head against me, and I looked down at her puffy eyes staring straight into my chest. "No, Roxas, this has been my fault from the beginning. I let you get involved with the Organization, but that was the biggest mistake I ever could have made. I should have stopped you on that day we met; maybe then you wouldn't have to deal with all of the terrible things that they've been involved with. It would have been best if I'd just sent you away."

I had nothing to say at that point. I had no idea what terrible things she was talking about, but I also didn't want to imagine what my life here would have been like had I not met her.

"I'm scared for you, Roxas," she whimpered, stuffing her face back into my shirt. "Xemnas' Organization isn't nearly as shady as the original one was, but they still have their share of bad dealings. What scares me the most, though, is that you and Xion are rising through the ranks in the same way that Vanitas was for the original."

Was that possible? Sure, Xemnas had been assigning the two of us more and more tasks, but surely we couldn't have been rising that quickly in the past month. Xion and I had only been given our first assignments a short while ago, and even then we'd just been doing the same sort of things, not counting the posters we were supposed to design.

"It won't be long," she continued, backing her face out of my shirt. "I bet that after winter break, Xemnas will ask you and Xion to accompany him and at least one of the other Organization admins on a more important task."

I did my best to hide my sudden jolt of anxiety, but her description was giving me a strange sense of déjà vu. This sounded almost identical to what Axel had told me about Vanitas. He'd quickly risen through the ranks, and was asked by the Organization head, Xehanort, to accompany him and another admin, Ansem, to take on a more important task. The story from there just goes on to how the three of them got screwed over and had their lives ruined. Could that really be my fate as well? Xemnas wouldn't be stupid enough to let the same events transpire again, would he?

"Roxas, please," Naminé began to plead, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked up at me. "Please promise me that you won't accept anything he tasks you with if he's involved with the process. It's bad enough that you're making his deliveries, but please, Roxas, I'm begging you!"

Never had I heard someone try so hard to stop someone from doing something. It broke my heart to see Naminé in such a state, and I hoped that I would never have to see her so down on herself ever again. Though I never really did get to ask my question, I felt as though I'd heard enough to be satisfied. After all, how could I possibly ask more from her at this point?

Smiling down at her softly, I brushed a tear from her cheek and held her tightly again. Even in sadness she looked absolutely beautiful, though I much preferred when she was happy. Without hesitating, I placed a kiss on the top of her head before actually responding to her.

"Of course I promise. I've already hurt you enough for an entire lifetime, Nam, and I don't want to see you this sad ever again. I'll never do anything to harm you, I promise."

Whether she was blushing profusely from the kiss or the sincerity of my words, I didn't know, but what was important was that she believed the honesty of my promise. I couldn't afford to hurt her, not after everything she'd done for me, everything she was _currently_ doing for me. She was my protector, the one who would look out for me even when I wasn't aware, and I would do everything to help her as well. We are each other's protectors, and that's how I want it to stay.

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

After yesterday's somewhat melancholic yet touching end, today began rather…different. Indeed, everything at school was set up for the Halloween stuff going on, and everyone was dressed in costumes ranging from silly to, well, slutty. Contrary to popular belief, most of the girls I've seen aren't using today as a chance to dress in skimpy clothes and most of the guys aren't simply walking around without shirts. There is still _some_ hope for this generation.

"Yo, Roxas!" I heard Axel shout from behind me. Turning around, I felt justified in saying that _most_ of the guys were giving hope to our generation.

"Hey, Axel," I waved, smirking at him. "Uh, what are you supposed to be: a firefighting male stripper?"

"Heh, you're pretty good at guessing," he chuckled smugly, pulling on his suspender straps. I had to try ridiculously hard not to laugh when I saw a sign over his crotch that read '10m Fire Hose'. "Anyway, what are you? You kinda look like…Sora…"

"Yeah… haha, his style doesn't really suit me," I laughed, gesturing to the baggy shorts, oversized shoes, and brown-dyed, porcupine-like hair. "I think he's dressed up like Riku, and Riku's dressed up like me."

"You guys all dressed up like each other?" Axel snorted, smirking all the while. "Damn, I wish I'd thought of that. I'd love to see Saïx try prancing around like me!"

I burst out laughing at that comment, trying to imagine Axel and Saïx switching bodies for a day. The thought of Saïx acting goofy while Axel scolds him for being an idiot with Demyx just seems hilarious. Then again, who would Demyx dress up as: Larxene? Mmf…bahahahaha!

"Yow!" Axel yelped as one of his straps snapped against his bare back.

"Heehee, Axel, you're the reason adults don't approve of Halloween these days!"

"Oh, look who's talking, Xion, or should I say skanky Snow White?!"

She shoved him back in a playful manner, and I chuckled along, happy to actually see Xion not being mopey for once. She actually smiled when she looked me over and started giggling a bit. Now, I can't say that she's dressed up quite like a 'Skanky Snow White' as Axel so eloquently put it, but I'm pretty that Snow White's dress went past her knees and her midriff wasn't exposed. Oh well, I think she looks kinda cute like this.

"Heh, you seem awfully bubbly today!" Axel laughed, switching her tiara with his helmet, which only earned another round of laughter from all of us.

"Yeah, well, I figured I should stop moping over my losses and fight for them instead," she said confidently.

"Good luck with that," Axel chuckled, switching their headgear back to normal, "your dude's as thick as Ven's belly."

"Hey, I heard that, asshole!" shouted a short and scrawny Terra as he lumbered over to us. One look at Ven and we all burst out laughing again. Ven doesn't really have the build to pull off a muscle shirt.

"Roxas?" someone said from behind me, so I turned around to see a familiar redhead.

"Oh, hey, Kai-waitasecondyouaren'tKairi... Naminé?!"

She giggled and blushed a bit when I looked her up and down. To be honest, if I hadn't heard her voice or gotten used to the subtle facial differences between the two of them, I probably wouldn't have known it was Naminé! I swear that her, Kairi, and Xion are related. Hell, I could even see Aqua being related except for the fact that she's tall…

"You look…exactly like Kairi…" I chuckled, scratching at the back of my head.

"Heehee, that's the idea," she giggled cutely. "You…only kind of look like Sora. Maybe you should be more smiley."

"Oh, you mean like this?" I challenged, putting on the hugest grin I could, though I still think that Sora outdoes me. She couldn't contain her giggles at my expression, and pretty soon we were both laughing rather hard.

"Well, isn't that cute," Axel jeered from the side. "Roxas and Naminé dressing up as Sora and Kairi. One potential couple dressing up as another one; oh, how adorable!"

Our giggles died down a bit as we both turned to him with beet-red faces. Axel just smirked at us until Xion snapped one of his suspenders again.

"Neither of those couples are actually dating, dorkface!" she said, lightly smacking Axel's side.

"I know, ow, that's why, ouch, I said potential!" he panted, doing his best to fend off Xion's slaps.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Xion has a thing for Axel. It sounds weird, but the only other person she's gotten as close to him with is me, so my best assumption would be that she likes him, though I'm not sure why she said he's a Twilight Town guy. Probably to throw us off the scent, but whatever.

"Haha, that is pretty weird," Ven chuckled as the rest of our group approached.

Now that I get a good look at everyone, it's awfully strange how some people look very similar to whom they're dressing up as, while others look absolutely ridiculous. I think the best example of ridiculousness would be Tidus dressed up as Wakka…or maybe it's Sora as Riku…no, no, it's definitely Terra trying to be Ven!

Since it was Halloween, and no one was particularly set on doing any schoolwork today, all of our classes were set up so that we could have fun instead. I was glad to spend most of the day simply talking and chilling with friends, and the highlight was probably that Xion actually talked to me during History! In fact, she seemed just as lively as ever, if not more so.

Before I knew it, the day had gone by as quickly as it arrived, and night was already blanketing the skies. Kids were already trick-or-treating, and Ven and I were on our way to the school for the dance. Naturally, we were still dressed up as Terra and Sora respectively, and we both laughed about how our entire group could ruin each other's reputations since we were all masquerading as someone else.

"So, you gonna make a move tonight?" Ven jeered, lightly elbowing my ribs.

"What are you talking about?" I retorted, regardless of the fact that I knew exactly what he meant.

As expected, he gave me a don't-be-stupid smirk before opening his mouth to speak. "Well, you and Naminé seem to be getting closer, and you both just happened to dress up as another couple who wants to get together, so why not make this your chance? The worst thing that could happen is that people think Sora and Kairi got together instead of you two."

"No," I shot back instantly, "the worst that could happen is that she rejects me and all my efforts go to waste."

"Efforts? Honestly, I haven't seen you make much romantic progress with her at all. If anything, _this_ would be an advancement-"

"Or hindrance."

"-to your relationship with her. Wouldn't you rather take the risk?"

I paused for a moment, wondering if it was worth risking my friendship with her for something more. Like I'd said before, Nam is my protector, and I doubt doing this would stop that, but I don't want to distance myself from her by doing something like this. She also reiterated yesterday that she doesn't want to expand our relationship past this point before she…cried into my arms about how worried she is about me…

"I don't know what her feelings are," I spoke aloud, half answering Ven, half thinking out loud.

"So what?" Ven questioned me. "It seems pretty damn obvious to me that she has a thing for you. Why else do you think she never developed a stronger bond with Sora or Riku if she was already friends with them?"

In a sense, he was right, but that evidence alone wasn't conclusive enough for me. She had met Sora under different circumstances than me, and I bet she became friends with Riku through Sora. I don't think she ever worried about Sora the same way as me because he wasn't going to go to a dark place. I'm not saying that I would if something happened, but it isn't like being caught up in all this Organization stuff is the best thing for me.

"I just need time to think it through," I sighed, turning to my brother. "I want to make sure that…things don't get weird between us in case she turns me down. She's made it clear enough that she probably will at this point, too, so I want to increase my chances a bit at least."

Ven sighed as well, but seemed to be a bit more understanding of my plight. Though he insisted that Naminé held feelings for me that were stronger than simply being best friends, he knew that she'd made it clear where she and I stood. The funny thing is, I would usually think that he'd be more concerned with his own love life instead of mine, but I guess his isn't nearly as dramatic as mine. After all, his little triangle with Terra and Aqua doesn't involve him getting involved in a shadowy group of people with unknown intentions and a dark past.

As we got closer to the school, I spotted a familiar, redheaded troublemaker skulking about by one of the side buildings. Curious to see what he was up to so far away from the location of the party, I let Ven go on ahead without me and followed after Axel.

Stealthily as I could, I kept a fair distance behind him so that he wouldn't notice me. However, I had to stay close enough that I wouldn't lose him, as I'd never been around this area of the school. I found it odd that he kept looking around every time there came a fork in his path before he chose one and walked down it. It was almost as if Axel didn't know where he was going, but he never looked confused. Eventually he rounded a corner and I snuck up along the wall when I heard some other voices along with his.

"You're late," I heard Saïx's voice deadpan.

"Sorry, but if you'd have picked an easier spot to get to, I might have been on time," Axel responded in his usual joking manner.

"Oh please," I heard a less-familiar voice sound out in the same manner as Axel's. "You're always so zetta slow!"

"Can it, Sho," Axel snapped back, "or maybe you don't want your goods, eh? I am the one who brought them after all."

"That's a change," I heard Higashizawa's deep voice boom out. "I'd been growing rather fond of that Roxas boy delivering our packages."

"Xemnas should've left him and Xion out of this stuff," Axel grumbled loudly. "I don't know what he was thinking, letting a couple of kids get involved in this."

I held my breath at that statement, hoping to hear more about what I had gotten into. It made me think back to the day when Axel looked upset about Xion and I taking on our first assignment. Was this related to that matter? Hadn't Axel reassured us when he said what the contents of his deliveries usually were? Then he _had_ been lying when he said he didn't know anything! And to think that I'd believed him…

"Oh? Is the great Axel showing a weakness for those two kiddies?" Sho cackled, cracking his knuckles. "I thought you were supposed to be the heartless one. After all, wasn't it _you_ who had to take out-"

"That's enough," Saïx cut him off, and I silently cursed him for doing so. Axel seemed to be much better at hiding his secrets than anyone else in the Organization! "We are not here to discuss past matters. We are here to do business and that is all. Do you have the munny?"

"Lemme see," Sho said, ruffling around in what I could only assume was a bag of sorts. "Here we go, counted it out myself. One, two, three… Two thousand munny in beautiful cash."

Holy crap, two thousand?! What the hell are they spending two thousand munny on?! Dammit, I wish I could get a look, but this wall is the only thing hiding me from view. If I poke my head out, one of them would spot me for sure and that means game over.

"It's legitimate," Saïx stated blankly; I assume he just checked to make sure it wasn't counterfeit. "Axel, you may give them what they came for."

I heard something get tossed, and Higashizawa's deep voice grunted as something landed in his arms. I suppose if it was heavy enough to make a tank like him grunt, it must've been worth that much munny.

"Heh, this stuff's expensive, but the cash we make off of selling this χ stuff is ridiculous!" Higashizawa laughed.

"Pleasure doing business with ya, yoctograms!" Sho cackled. Footsteps retreating in a different direction were all that I heard for the next few moments, and I was about to head off to the dance when I heard Axel and Saïx start talking again.

"Saïx," Axel said in a strangely serious tone, "is it really alright for us to be doing this kind of stuff?"

"That's not for us to decide," he deadpanned in response. "We just follow the orders of the higher-ups."

"Still," Axel sighed, sounding audibly concerned, "I wouldn't mind if it were just us experienced guys still doing this stuff, but why'd Xemnas have to go and get those two kids involved?"

"You really care about them so much?"

"…We're friends. I get along with all of their friends as well."

"That's because you hide the truth. If they really knew anything about you, do you truly believe that they would continue being your friend?"

Saïx' question was followed by silence, and I realized I'd been holding my breath again. What did he mean "know anything about you"? What did Axel have to hide from us? I can't imagine Axel's past would be so shrouded in mystery that it would prevent us from being friends, could it?

"Just see if Xemnas will stop getting them to deliver χ. It's bad enough that we have to do it, but making innocent kids like them who don't even know what they're doing is wrong."

"I'll see what I can do," Saïx answered flatly. "You understand, however, that sooner or later there will be a task they must undertake without your aid."

"Impossible, I'll do whatever I can to keep them safe," Axel said in an aggressive and serious manner.

"Even if it means seeing your old friends, the Jenova brothers?"

There was a tense pause, and I bit my lip in anticipation for what Axel would say next. I definitely should have left so that I wouldn't hear all of this, but it was too late to be thinking that now. I had heard this much, so there would be no point in backing out now.

"Yes, even if it comes to that."

"I find that rather difficult to believe," Saïx sounded almost smug as he said that. "After all, the last dealing the Organization had with them didn't end quite so well; not that I was there to know firsthand."

"But I was," Axel stated bitterly.

"Ah, that's right. And do your _friends_, Roxas and Xion, or even better, _Sora_, know of your involvement during that incident?"

This was all starting to sound strangely familiar, and I swear that the thickness of the air could have suffocated me. There was so much tension in the area, and I felt like I might burst from all the things I shouldn't have heard this evening.

"What they don't know won't hurt them," Axel said darkly, apparently not wanting to hear any more of Saïx bringing up the past.

"Fair enough, but I will admit that I would never be able to befriend someone after permanently disabling their brother. You truly are a heartless creature, Mr. Lea."

"Heh, some best friend you are."

"Coming from you, that means very little."

I didn't hear anything else that they might have said after that, as I had crept away until I was far enough to run without being heard. I didn't know whether I should cry or scream in anger at that point. I couldn't believe what Saïx had been saying, but all the evidence came straight out of Axel's mouth, and I could do nothing to deny what I'd heard.

Axel was the reason Vanitas would never be the same again…

* * *

Ooh, suspense! Haha, truthfully, that was a spur-of-the-moment thing for me, but I think I can work well with this new plot point. Sorry if the lack of romance is bugging you (I feel like there hasn't been much of it lately), but I'm hoping to change that when I can. It's just difficult to focus on Roxas having a crush when there's so much more going on around him.

So, what'd you think? Hopefully no one saw Axel being such a shady guy because, as I said, I literally made up that plot point as I was writing this. I think things are going to start moving a bit faster from now on, so stay on your toes because I have a lot of stuff to write about!

Thanks to **roxasduelwielder, VTAR, X-blade025, Anon, aru, **and **DarkAceKirby **for reviewing!

**X-blade025: **Sorry if the Naminé section seemed underwhelming since she didn't really reveal anything, but that Axel section should have made up for anything she didn't say. Heh, Axel breaking into his house is just a little recurring gag I like putting in, like how people keep saying Ven is fat. I'm not expecting to get a lot of laughs out of either of those, but I like having recurrences. And regarding the Ansem thing, just keep in mind that Naminé's father in this will typically be referred to as Mr. the Wise. It shouldn't be a huge issue since I don't plan on talking much more about Xehanort and Ansem, but in case I do, now you know.

**Anon: **Well, since the Organization's relationship to Roxas's family took you by surprise, I hope that the Axel reveal blew your mind! The shift in narrative was simply because there wasn't a lot of interaction in that chapter, so I figured that the best way to present things would be through Roxas's thoughts and reflections. Most will be more like this one, but there's probably at least one more in the future that will be like that, though.

**Aru: **Glad to see you're enjoying the story! The Organization actually has quite a few more secrets than I'd initially planned, but it seems to be working out smoothly. Hopefully the shifts between the Naminé plot and the Organization plot aren't throwing you (or anyone else) off since they aren't completely intertwined yet.

Thanks for reading and please review!

_-GengaJupite_


	16. Roxas, you're grabbing my boob

I feel like I haven't written in a really long time. I'm not sure exactly why, but I'm guessing it has to do with watching anime and stuff… I also have to figure out my courses for next term, and I'm just super tired from working all the time. Man, I kinda wish that July's stat holiday wasn't at the beginning of the month because I could really use a stay-cation right now. Oh well, such is my life right now; hopefully things will get better once summer ends (feels weird saying that…) since I tend to have more free time during school (which also sounds like it doesn't make sense, but having two classes a day is way less than having eight hours of work a day).

Anyway, you guys didn't come here to hear me complain, so I'll just get on with this chapter.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one. I've also been forgetting to mention that I also don't own anything from The World Ends With You; all rights go to Square Enix. And, since I'm including a bit in this chapter, I don't own Angel Beats; all rights go to Key.

_Edit 7/27/13: Fixed a rather grievous mistake on my part which will be mentioned in the foreword A/N of the next chapter._

* * *

_Roxas, you're grabbing my boob_

"Man, that was one kick-ass dance!" Ven stated, blissfully flopping himself down onto the bed.

"Sure," I said flatly, ignoring the fact that Ven decided that he was going to come hang out in my room…

Looking in the mirror, I ran my hands through my hair until my hairstyle returned to normal (though the spray-on, brown hair dye wouldn't come out until I showered). Satisfied with the messy look, I sighed and slumped down in the recliner. I had to wonder how it was always me who ended up sitting in the chair while someone else gets to lie on my bed. Oh well, that isn't really the most pressing thing right now.

"You tired or something?" Ven asked almost rhetorically. "You look like you're all tuckered out; though, I didn't see you doing too much while we were there."

I leaned back in the chair and breathed out slowly, running both my hands through my hair. I certainly couldn't tell Ven about what I'd heard, or it would spark up a huge fight with Axel. I had a hard enough time trying to act normal around the redheaded porcupine during the dance, but I had no idea how I was going to keep it up at school. If I started acting suspicious, people would definitely notice, and sooner or later everyone would find out. Axel may be a scumbag for trying to save his own hide, but he's still my friend; besides, if Ven's group found out about Axel's involvement, then it would probably lead to an all-out war between them and the Organization. Things have been pretty calm as of late, but I can't say for sure if that'll be the case for long.

"…Roxas? Do you want me to get out?"

I snapped back into reality and looked to see my brother sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at me in confusion.

"Uh, do whatever you want," I answered quickly, trying to play it off as naturally as I could. "I've just got some things to think about. Thank god it's the weekend."

"Oh, I see how it is," he snickered, hopping back into a more comfortable position on my bed. "You're thinking about all the hot stuff you and cute, little Naminé were doing tonight."

"What?!" I shouted, shooting upright in my chair. "What the hell kind of stuff are you talking about?! All we did was dance!"

His snickers instantly escalated into loud gasps for air as he fell off the bed in a fit of laughter at my reaction. I can honestly say that this is the first time I've ever seen someone literally ROFL, and I wasn't exactly sure how I was meant to be reacting. It isn't like I said anything funny…

"Hehehe, woo, that was a good laugh," he mused while shakily standing back up. Once he'd plopped himself back on the bed, I stared at him until he explained his reason for losing it like that. "Roxas, I was just kidding around, but the way you just blew up at me like that makes me think that you actually _did_ do something hot and nasty. I mean, the two of you did leave the dance for a bit to, ah, what was it again, "go get some fresh air"?"

He smirked devilishly at me while quoting those words, and all I could do was cross my arms and avert eye contact. Still, he knew he'd won when the blush started forming on my cheeks. The sound of him snickering to himself like a perverted jerk only made my face turn redder, but more out of anger and annoyance than embarrassment.

"Well, care to elaborate or should I make my own assumptions about what went on during that time?" he sneered.

"If it'll get you to shut up, I'll tell you."

"I'm all ears."

Sighing, I made sure to get the story straight in my head. After all, I couldn't accidentally let something regarding Axel slip out, or I'd be in heaps of trouble. Leaning back in the chair and staring up at the ceiling, I began to explain to Ven what had transpired between Nam and I when we stepped away from the dance.

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_The crowd went wild as the band finished playing _Crow Song._ Honestly, I couldn't believe that my school had somehow managed to book Girls Dead Monster (or GirlDeMo for short) to do a surprise performance for our school's Halloween dance! I actually got to freaking touch Yui and Iwasawa's hands! I'm not trying to complain that that just happened, but to get a super popular band from the Underworld to come all the way out here…what was the committee's budget?!_

_That's when I remembered that Organization XIII had been in charge of all of this… I suppose the amount of money we'd secured had to be quite a bit; after all, Axel just made two thousand munny a short while ago…_

"_Roxas," Naminé said from beside me, causing me to abandon the idea of dwelling on those dark thoughts, "the band said they're gonna take a break. Want to come outside until they're back?"_

_Out of impulse, I glanced around to see all of my friends watching us very indiscreetly. Geez, you'd think they'd never seen a guy and girl talking before…_

"_Sure, I could use some air too," I said calmly, taking her hand to lead her out of the area where all our friends were staring._

"_Atta boy, Roxy!" I heard Axel shout over the crowds of other people. If we weren't surrounded by so many people, I'd probably tell him to go piss off for being a traitorous snake._

_Exiting the building, the two of us stepped out into the cool, night air. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the light of the full moon shone down on the islands like a giant flashlight in the air. The stars were twinkling ever so gently, and I felt strangely peaceful despite the sound of the pumping bass coming from the speakers in the gym._

_I turned to Naminé, but had to suppress my laughter at the sight of her. This just felt so odd, what with her looking exactly like Kairi. I mean, don't get me wrong, Kairi's a real looker and all, but somehow it's just funny that I know it isn't her. I wonder if Nam is thinking the same thing about me right now, except that I supposedly don't look too much like Sora. That's okay in my books, however, since Sora's pretty goofy-looking._

"_P-Please stop staring at me, Roxas," Kai- I mean, Naminé said timidly. "You're making me uncomfortable."_

_Crap, that's the last thing I wanted to happen. "Oh, uh, hehe, sorry, I was just thinking that it's so weird how much you look like Kairi. I still can't get over it!"_

"_I-I think you're exaggerating," she said, her face turning red enough that I could still tell it was changing colours in the dim moonlight. "I can't possibly look _that_ much like her. Aqua doesn't really look like me…"_

_I had to chuckle at that statement as I pictured the blue-nette in her Naminé getup. "Heh, well, that's mostly just because she's tall. Trust me, Nam, Kairi doesn't really look much like Aqua. Now if all three of you were the same height…and maybe if you threw Xion in the mix…"_

"_Okay, I get it, we look alike…" she huffed, puffing up her cheeks in slight annoyance._

_I couldn't help but smile at her with that adorable, annoyed look of hers. There was just something about the way she looked right now that made my insides fill with butterflies, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she looked like Kairi. I couldn't place my finger on exactly what it was, but all my troubles seemed to melt away when I looked at her. Of course, this would only be a temporary respite…_

"_You seemed…different tonight," she said softly, turning to look up at me with her big, blue irises, "like you weren't having as much fun as you usually would have."_

_Heh, leave it to Naminé to notice a slight shift in my personality, even with all the other chaos going on around us. Maybe if I play it off like it was nothing, she'll just sort of go with it._

"_Really?" I questioned, hoping that my slim chance of this working would pull through. "What made you think that? After all, I did get to high-five both Yui _and_ Iwasawa, remember?"_

"_That's true," she said in a slightly dejected manner, "it's just…I'm not sure why, but I felt like you were being a bit withdrawn or something. You seemed much more lively when you brought me to The Lounge back at the beginning of the year."_

_Had I really seemed that much different? Even looking back now, I can't say for sure that I remember being much more lively. In fact, I feel like I was more reserved back then because I didn't want Naminé to get uncomfortable with the situation. The only thing I was holding back this time was my hidden enmity towards Axel. All I can say is that I tried to avoid him, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I acted strangely, did I?_

"_Maybe I'm overthinking it," she sighed, turning to look up at the moon. "I mean, I haven't known you for that long, Roxas, but it's almost like you've changed in the short time I've come to know you. I don't mean that in a bad way; it's more like you've…developed a deeper personality."_

_I mirrored her actions and looked up to the moon, gazing at its pale, lifeless colour. "Heh, well, that's what happens when you get to know someone better. I don't think I changed; you just learned more about my true character."_

"_I guess so," she said, sidestepping a little closer to me, "but I still have this feeling that you've got something on your mind."_

_I could have sworn that I heard a guitar strumming some familiar notes in the background of this moment we were sharing, but I had to keep my focus on Naminé. She seemed genuinely worried, and I didn't want to make her worry more by suddenly diverting my attention from her to the soothing chords._

"_You can read me like a book, can't you?" I chuckled wryly, turning to see her deep, blue eyes gazing into my own._

"_Roxas," she said my name seriously yet gently, "you know that I'll always be here to help you. You don't have to bear these burdens alone."_

_I stared at her for a moment or two, opening my mouth to say something, but I couldn't even think of the right words to say. A different issue had surfaced itself in my mind, pushing the problem with Axel back within the depths of my brain. Try as I might to make that the most imminent problem, I couldn't seem to push back the new, or rather old, problem that had come up again. I wanted so badly to just spit out that Axel had lied about everything, even though I wasn't supposed to know, but I simply couldn't, and the longer we gazed at each other, the more I realized that my polar-opposite problems couldn't be eradicated in such a way._

_I was in love with my best friend, Naminé._

_Okay, perhaps love is too strong of a word, but a teenager's version of love; after all, what could I truly know of love at this age? I guess if I can't say that I'm in love with her, then I'd fallen for Naminé, and I fell hard. The way she cared for me, worried about me, and generally had my best interests in mind was more than anything I'd ever felt from another girl before. Not only was she one of the best-looking girls I'd ever met, but she had a heart of gold as well, always thinking of me before herself. I don't know where I'd be if she hadn't been here for me all this time, but I don't think it would be a far stretch to say that I would have already found a way to convince my mom to let me return to Twilight Academy._

"_Nam, I…" I said slowly, still attempting to find the right words to say._

_I could feel my hands shaking as I reached for hers. She gasped lightly at the touch, and I knew that both of our faces were burning up at that point. The fact that GirlDeMo decided to take their break outside, notice the two of us standing alone together, and start playing one of their more touching songs, _Ichiban no Takaramono, _was not helping me calm down at all right now. I mean, not only was I being privately serenaded by them, but it was also in a moment with Naminé where I wasn't sure if I'd be able to control my feelings properly._

"_R-Roxas?" Nam said shakily, though she appeared to have tightened her hold on my hand. "W-What are you trying to say?"_

"_I…I…" I stuttered dumbly, trying with all my might to think of something reasonable to say. Just staring into Naminé's eyes was sending me into a flurry of mixed emotions, stopping me from saying anything that I wanted to, but also withholding me from saying the embarrassing things I didn't want her to hear. "I can't…" I finally managed to croak out, though I was ashamed that after all that buildup I still couldn't say anything worthwhile._

"_You can't… You can't do what, Roxas?" she asked, loosening her grip on my stilled hand._

"_I can't do this right now." I'm too weak to confess.  
_"_There are just too many things running through my mind." I can't lose my best friend.  
_"_It's nothing to do…with you." It has everything to do with you.  
_"_Please don't be mad. I'm not trying to distance myself." I just want to hold you closer.  
_"_When the time comes, I'll try to help you understand." And I hope that you'll see why it was so difficult for me to do all of this._

_I dropped my gaze and shut my eyes, knowing that I'd probably just said something stupid. Why did I let myself go on like that?! Naminé knows that I wouldn't act that way under normal circumstances. Why couldn't I just bring up the whole Axel thing so that she didn't have to hear something as ridiculous as what I just said?! At least that way I wouldn't have had to lie to her, and maybe she'd have some kind of solution for me._

"_Okay," she said quietly, using her free hand to lift up my chin._

"_Okay?" I repeated in a questioning manner._

"_Okay," she repeated more cheerfully, a slight giggle escaping her lips. "Whatever this is, it must be difficult for you. I don't want to force an answer out of you, Roxas, so I'll just have to wait until you're ready to tell me."_

_Before I had a chance to respond, or even do anything at all, Nam beat me to the punch and did something completely unexpected. As my lips started to curl into a smile, they instantly parted so that my jaw hung open in shock when the red-dyed blonde moved closer to…_

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"What the what?!" Ven snapped, nearly launching himself onto me as I breathed out those final words. "Are you saying that…that she actually did that?! Like, instigated it and everything?!"

"Calm down, you jackass," I said in a much less aggressive manner than that statement implies, pushing him off of me and back onto the bed. "It was just on the cheek."

"Yeah, but still," he said amusedly, "the fact that Naminé of all people would _kiss_ you without first being instigated is…is… Gah, I just can't wrap my head around it!"

"You're telling me," I said breathily, gently touching my fingers to the spot where Naminé's lips had _purposely _pressed against my cheek. The residual tingling in that spot transferred into my fingers as if she'd just kissed them as well.

"So, what happened next?!" Ven beckoned, eager to hear about any details I hadn't let him know about.

"Erm, nothing…" I said flatly, earning an unimpressed look from my brother. "Honestly, I was in shock, and after that kiss she hurried back into the gym without me. I didn't snap out of my daze until the GirlDeMo girls, who had been watching the whole time, yelled out "kawaii!" and started giggling. Then, for the rest of the night, they all kept winking at me during their performance…"

"Damn, some guys have all the luck," Ven grumbled, squeezing one of my pillows in his arms.

"Except that if they ever come back, they're gonna be cheering on Sora and Kairi, not me…"

"Oh, that's right… Sora's one lucky guy, then."

"Hey, I think he's long overdue for some good luck, Ven," I said sternly, giving him a serious look.

"Yeah, you're right," he sighed, realizing the hastiness of his previous statement. Usually I'd reprimand him for saying something stupid like that, but at least he knew what was wrong with what he'd just said. "Still, sounds like you had a good night. Makes me wonder why you're all grumpy right now, or are you secretly jealous of the attention you gave to Sora?"

"No, it's nothing like that," I said thoughtlessly, leaning back in the chair again to stare up at the ceiling. "Two months, though," I muttered to myself, "what a hell of a short amount of time for all of this stuff to happen. Nothing like this ever would've happened back in Twilight Town."

"Pfft, cheek kisses from cute girls don't happen in Twilight Town?" Ven chuckled sarcastically, taking me out of my musings. "Unless, of course, you meant the part about a famous band cheering you on while you're all dressed up as your cousin."

It took me a second to register what he was talking about, as I had been thinking more about the whole Axel predicament, not the cheek kiss. I guess it only makes sense that he would've misunderstood in that way. I just wish that I had someone to talk to this about. Understandably, I can't talk to Ven or Sora, or I risk starting up that war. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to confront Axel yet and Xion probably wouldn't know what to say. That really only leaves Naminé, and it seems like it should be easy to tell her but I'm afraid that I might get cold feet again.

"Anyway, I'm gonna hit the sack," Ven yawned, getting up from my bed. "You're still coming tomorrow, yeah?"

"Hm? Tomorrow?" I asked dumbly.

"What, you forgot already? Aqua said we could all hang out at her place while her parents are away. Think of it like a mini party/get-together among friends."

"Axel's not gonna be there, is he?"

"Uh, I doubt it… Xion might be, though. That's not an issue, is it?"

"No, no, it's nothing. Sure, I'm down."

"Cool, I'm probably gonna head over there around noon, so don't sleep in too long or I'll leave without you. Night."

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I had trouble sleeping that night with all the strange thoughts running through my head. How had I come to balancing the tragedy within my family with my love life? Not only that, but I had to consider the Organization as a factor that weighed down on the tragedy side, and Axel was almost like a catalyst that could set off all the wrong things if he got found out. I'd sworn to myself that I would keep this from everyone for the time being, but how would I be able to face Axel in person? I was angry with him during the whole dance, but I couldn't imagine trying to hide my animosity towards him in a situation that wasn't so hectic and riddled with other distractions.

As I tossed and turned in my covers, I glanced at the clock to see it shining the numbers 3:42 back in my face. I felt tired and I wanted to sleep, but my mind wouldn't shut down. I kept trying to find a way to tackle my problems all at once, but it seemed that there wasn't any correlation between Naminé and Axel. No, my feelings for Nam were just a stupid personal issue, whereas the situation with Axel had become something that would affect the lives of everyone around me. It should seem obvious which problem was more imminent.

Then why did my feelings for Naminé persistently rise to the forefront of my thoughts?

Try as I might to focus on the more complicated matter at hand, I simply couldn't exclude Naminé from my thoughts. Something kept drawing her back, forcing my brain to battle between thoughts of love and war. I was growing fatigued by the constant thoughts running around, but because my brain was racing around so much I couldn't fall asleep. When I thought I might finally pass out from exhaustion, the sun began to peek in through my curtains, and I suddenly caught my second wind, though it wasn't going to help my inevitable sluggishness for the day.

Realizing that there would be no point in trying to get to sleep at this point, I slogged out of my room to get ready for the day. Being that it was only about six in the morning on a Saturday, my dad was understandably confused when I lazily shuffled into the kitchen to go about my morning routine. Most of the time, he'd be out of the house before Ven or I woke up on a weekday, so for me to be awake and moving about like this on a weekend was pretty uncharacteristic.

I wasted away the morning, lounging about like a log until Ven was ready to head off to Aqua's. Luckily for me, she lived far enough away that driving wasn't a waste of gas.

"Are you even awake?" Ven asked, taking his eyes off the road for a second to look at me nodding off a bit. "If you were this tired, you should've slept longer; I mean, you were up before I was."

"I didn't sleep last night," I grumbled, repositioning myself into what appeared to be a more alert stance. "After all the dancing and stuff we did, I'm pretty exhausted."

"Heh, it's kinda lame, but Aqua will probably let you go take a nap in the guest room or something if you ask," he chuckled, rounding a turn into some suburb.

"You laugh now, but I might actually consider doing it; at least until everyone gets there," I chuckled back, leaning my head against the seatbelt.

Of course, once we actually got there, I felt too awkward asking if I could go take a nap right away, so instead I did my best to stay alert and attentive. Terra was the only other person there, as I had expected since Ven said everyone else was coming later that night. The tank and my brother almost instantly got into some heated debate about who was better at something in some way or another, which left Aqua and I to watch on from the sidelines.

"So, Roxas, what have you been up to lately?" she asked, turning away from her two potential love interests. "We haven't really had much time to talk, huh?"

"Yeah, you're always busy in class," I said, shrugging. "And not really much of anything. Just the regular stuff with this group and the Organization."

"Oh, so nothing special going on between you and Naminé?" she giggled.

"Not particularly," I said flatly, hoping to discourage her from pushing this any further. "Besides, you're always asking about my relationships, but I don't think I've heard anything about yours."

"Mine?" she said innocently. Psh, as if she doesn't know which two dummies I'm referring to.

"Yeah, how are things with you three?" I jeered, indicating to the boys who had begun a rather one-sided wrestling match.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she responded stubbornly.

"Oh? Because Ven was telling me something about you earlier…"

"Really? What did he say?!"

In truth, I never question Ven about his triangle relationship with Terra and Aqua, so he never said anything about Aqua. Even though he – and not to mention the entirety of our circle of friends – doesn't seem to play by the same rules as me, I always figured that people's relationships are their own business. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm not curious about what he gets up to, but I can't really be bothered to pester him about it. Still, it's a good tactic to use when turning the situation on others.

"Nothing important," I waved her question off smugly, "but it seems like you've taken quite an interest in what he had to say."

"N-No! I just don't like when people say things about me behind my back…" she got quieter as she trailed off the end. I don't think I'd seen Aqua blush before, but it looks pretty funny with her blue hair and all.

"Aqua, why are you blushi- OW, GOD, MY ARM!" Ven screamed as Terra got him in a pretty nasty-looking arm bar.

"Yeah, your face is super red," the human tank said normally despite the fact that he appeared to be ripping off my brother's arm.

"Oh, she was just telling me about some Edgar guy who asked her out," I cut in before she could respond.

"What?! How did you know about that?!" she squealed, hands flying to her gaping mouth as her face turned even redder.

…Wait, that was real? I just thought of some random guy and made something up to see all of their reactions… This may have turned out better than expected.

"Edgar?!" Ven shouted, apparently ignoring the pain of his arm. "As in Edgar Figaro?! The little womanizing rich kid or whatever his thing is?!"

"That little asshole; I'll knock his head in!" Terra growled, taking his anger out by pulling harder on Ven's arm.

"Heh, why?" I said in an attempt to provoke them further. "All he did was ask her out."

"Well, uh…because…" they both stuttered stupidly, glancing between me, Aqua, and each other. "Because he…and her…we…they…"

I couldn't keep myself from laughing as I watched all of their faces turn the same red colour as each other. This was pretty much the way I expected this to play out: Ven and Terra making fools of themselves while Aqua sits there with an embarrassed look on her face. Admittedly, she's a bit more embarrassed than I would have expected since that thing I made up actually happened, but that just made it all the more entertaining to watch.

The rest of the afternoon was spent joking around and talking about anything that came to mind. I was surprised at how easily I was able to forget my troubles in the presence of friends, but perhaps it was because I knew that neither Axel nor Naminé would be coming today. Axel was sort of a given since Ven said that he wouldn't be here, and Nam texted me saying that she wouldn't be able to make it. Though I couldn't exactly say I was happy she couldn't come, I did feel slightly relieved in a strange sort of way.

It was probably around 8:00 when everyone else started showing up. They all came in their usual groupings, and Sora, Kairi, and Riku were the first group to show up. None of us could hold back our laughter at the sight of Sora's hair, which was splotched with silver patches in the spots where he'd sprayed on too much dye. It almost looked like he had some kind of weird hair disease or something, especially since his hair was back to its regular, spiky self.

Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie all showed up together, though Yuna, Rikku, and Paine followed them shortly after. After laughing at Sora's unfortunate hairstyle, it became apparent that everyone knew Naminé wasn't coming. I say that because the moment they saw me there without her, Selphie, Rikku, and Yuna flocked to me like lovesick animals. Tidus obviously wasn't pleased with what Yuna was doing, and Paine snorted at her friends for fawning over someone who was "just okay" as she so delicately put it.

"So, when do we get to pop open the drinks? I can't wait to see Roxas get drunk," Selphie purred, nuzzling uncomfortably close to me.

"Oh please, you don't care about seeing him drunk; you just want to get in his pants while he's under the influence," Rikku also sidled up on the other side of me before adding, "not that I'll complain."

"It would be pretty fun to see how wild he might get," Yuna giggled.

"Yuna!"

"Yes, Tidus?"

"Ehehe…nevermind…" I swear this exact complaint happens every time she says something he doesn't like. Man, when is he ever just gonna say that it bothers him?

At the sound of someone knocking on the door, I quickly jumped to my feet so that I could stop being suffocated by Selphie, Rikku, and slightly Yuna. "Oh, that's probably Xion! Don't worry, Aqua, I'll get it!"

"Oh, uh, thanks then, Roxas," she said slightly confused, but allowed me to speed off anyway.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Xion said as I answered the door. "Huh, Roxas? Isn't this Aqua's house; why are you answering the door?"

"Hehe, no reason, just thought I'd do it," I answered sheepishly, scratching the back of my neck. She shrugged and stepped inside, taking off her shoes before following me to the room where everyone else was.

"Now that everyone's here, can we start?" Selphie asked, though she pulled out a bottle of booze from her purse before waiting for a response. "Roxas, come drink with me! Can't let Xion steal you away for the night, can I?"

"W-What? Steal him away?!" Xion stuttered, face turning noticeably red. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Heehee, good, then it's still fair game," Rikku said, pulling me over by my arm before I had a chance to figure out what was going on.

"You know, I wasn't really planning on drin- Blurgflurblugurblub…" I gurgled as one of the girls basically shoved a bottle of something down my throat. Geez, I knew they had some sort of weird crush thing for me, but trying to get me drunk like this is a bit much.

"Heh, don't worry, Roxas," Ven laughed, raising a bottle of his own, "if it comes down to it, we can always crash here. I told Mom we might stay over at someone's place tonight anyway."

"Yeah, but who starts drinking at 8:30?!" I coughed, removing the now-empty bottle from my mouth, only to unwillingly have a full one take its place.

"Uh, high school kids like us?" Riku chuckled, though he didn't look like he was drinking anything. "It's not like we have the privilege of going to a club at midnight like legal drinkers do."

"Fine, but I'm probably just gonna pass out if you get me too drunk," I inhaled once the second bottle was removed from my esophagus. Of course, I didn't have the foresight to realize that Selphie or Rikku or Yuna or whoever was going to shove a third one there. I don't know if they're desperate or what this is all about…

Thankfully, Xion saved me from a fourth bottle by pulling me away before one of the other girls could basically inject me with more alcohol. I'm just glad it was only beer or coolers because I'd probably be out like a light by now if that had been hard liquor.

"Whew, you're a lifesaver, Xion," I exhaled deeply, smiling warmly at her.

"Heehee, don't worry, I'm not about to get you smashed against your will," she giggled, handing one of those bottles into my palm and not my unsuspecting face.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Selphie and Rikku pouting while Tidus pulled Yuna away. Chuckling, I popped the lid off of my bottle and clinked with Xion before taking my first intentional sip of the night. From there on out, the night evolved into a fun, slightly hectic evening of drunkenness and stupidity that I will gladly forget about by tomorrow. In fact, the last thing I remember seeing before my memory blurred into a hazy fog of laughter and idiocy was someone filming with a camera…

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

I woke up the next morning to the sound of Sora screaming at the peacefully chirping birds to "shut the hell up" while also threatening to roast them alive. Honestly, I'm surprised he can scream right now, because his shouting is splitting my head in two. I wish I'd kept better track of how many drinks I had because I'm not usually one to get hangovers. Not that I drink enough to know…because I'm a good kid…and good kids don't drink underage…

I opened my eyes, but instantly shut them back tight, cursing the brightness of the sunlight streaming in onto my face. Since I had to keep my eyes closed, I didn't really get a good look at what my surroundings were like, so I had to make inferences based on touch.

The first thing I noticed was just how uncomfortable I was. Seriously, I think I must've passed out on the floor because the ground beneath me feels like laminate or marble or some kind of hard flooring. At least someone was kind enough to put a pillow under my head and toss a blanket over me, but it didn't help the hardness of the floor.

The next thing I noticed was that I wasn't wearing a shirt. Smooth, Roxas, way to show your true colours when you're being a drunken idiot… I could still feel my shorts, so at least I could tell that I hadn't done anything…sexual… Actually, I wasn't wearing basketball shorts yesterday, was I? No, I was definitely wearing regular fabric shorts… Why would I have traded? I really hope I wasn't drunk enough to do something kind of gay…

I felt something shift beside me, but I still couldn't open my eyes just yet. The feeling was odd, because my left arm was asleep from the bicep down, so whatever just shifted made all the pins and needles go crazy. Using my right arm, I moved it over to move my left one into a position that would get the blood flowing, but I stopped when I hit something. I groped around, trying to figure out exactly what this was. Actually, whatever's beside me right now is pretty warm…and soft…and under the blanket with me…ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod, please don't be what I'm thinking.

Ignoring the searing pain that the sunlight was causing me, my eyes shot open to reveal what I was dreading to see. What was worse was that I wasn't expecting to be met with a pair of wide eyes and a blushing face staring back at me.

"R-Roxas," she squeaked, pulling the blanket up to hide the fact that she was clearly only in her bra and panties, "you're g-grabbing my…my…b-boob…"

However, I was frozen, mouth agape as my face somehow managed to pale and blush at the same time. I must have looked like a crimson ghost or something, staring at her with my dumbstruck expression. I couldn't even register that I was supposed to be letting go, not that she was stopping me.

Then it dawned on me. She's only in her underwear, I'm only in shorts, and not even my own, either. Shitshitshit this isn't happening! We couldn't have, we wouldn't have! No, I would never do something like this! Especially not with my feelings for Naminé!

Gulping, I shakily removed my hand from her chest, and tried my best to stutter something out.

"X-Xion? We d-didn't do anything, right?"

The look she gave me was one of fear, and I really just wanted to get the hell out of Aqua's house right then. Her mouth quivered as she managed to squeak out the words.

"I…I don't remember."

* * *

*Sigh* As if our poor Roxas didn't have enough things screwing him over (haha, see what I did there? ;)). Sorry if you don't like how my chapters' tones have been jumping all over the place. I find that if I don't write everything all in one sitting, I tend to change the mood to fit how I'm feeling. Normally that would be where a good writer goes back and fixes it so that each chapter has a set feel to it, but I'm not looking to be a published or professional writer, so my only aim is to please you guys (unless you don't like it…).

Oh, and if the random inclusion of something outside of the things related to Kingdom Hearts bugged you (Girls Dead Monster from _Angel Beats!_), just let me know, and I'll be sure to avoid using non-KH-related stuff. I just thought it might fit because the Underworld is in KH, and if you've seen or read _Angel Beats!_, then you'll understand the reference. I don't plan to add in random stuff later on, but it might just be a spur-of-the-moment thing; after all, this was.

Thanks to **DuelRoxas16, roxasduelwielder, VATR, Anon/Void Star 317, EnterAbyss29.91, **and **Duon** for reviewing!

Thanks for reading and please review!

_-GengaJupite_


	17. Oh, um, okay, makeout time

Haha, so I just realized something about a week after I posted that last chapter. I'm actually surprised that no one else caught it either. It's been fixed so that it isn't confusing to those who might catch it, so for anyone who missed it, don't worry :P

If you didn't catch it before the fix, here's the mistake: remember the guy who asked out Aqua? Zack. Okay, now remember who Sora's deceased father/Roxas' uncle is? Yeah…my bad… I decided the best course of action would just be to pick some other FF character, so I went with the infamously flirtatious Edgar Roni Figaro of FFVI. I was originally going to leave it and make up some lame excuse about how the Zack who asked out Aqua is the young KHBBS Zack, whereas Roxas' uncle is the actual, older Zack from FFCC, but that seemed too stupid so I fixed the problem instead :P

One other mistake, though to a much lesser extent than that^ one: Roxas and Ven were both amazed that Naminé kissed him on the cheek. That would be fine…if she hadn't already done it back in one of the first few chapters… I need to work on my consistency here…

Oh, and there's one section here where they're watching a video. Any time a name is prefixed with video-[name], it's referring to the person in the video. If the name isn't prefixed, then it's happening in real time.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one.

* * *

_Oh…um…okay, makeout time…_

"I…I don't remember."

It was as if time had stopped, but not in the good way between two people in love. We stared at each other with mixed expressions, unsure of what to do or say. I was having a hard time deciding if I should run, roll over and attempt to wake up from this nightmare, or simply scream. I'm sure Xion was thinking the same things, given that her expression was pretty much mirroring mine.

"Ah, morning, lovelies," Riku yawned, walking into the room seemingly without a hangover. "Sleep well?"

We both craned our necks to look up at him, but neither of us could say anything at the moment. It then occurred to me that we were somewhat stuck where we were with him standing there. With the blanket covering us, he couldn't see our half-naked bodies clinging to each other, but we also couldn't stand up or he would see us emerging from under a blanket with half-naked bodies… Riku might be all cool and suave, but he would eat something like this up…

"You guys should probably go put your clothes on now while most of the others are asleep," he said coolly, though it only confused me more, which didn't help my headache at all.

"You…how did you know?" Xion squeaked to him, blushing harder than she already was.

Riku smirked and folded his arms, kicking what appeared to be my shirt over to us. "Let's just say I was the one who made sure you two got to bed okay."

I wanted to believe that that meant he made sure we hadn't done anything, but honestly it could have meant that he just gave us the pillow and blankets… Geez, I can't believe I'd let myself do something like this, even while inebriated! Ven is never going to let me hear the end of it when he finds out…

"I won't tell Ven," Riku chuckled as if he'd just read my mind. In fact, he seemed to be giving off all sorts of signs like he knew what we were thinking.

"You're not hung over?" I asked him, pulling on my shirt as I changed the subject.

"Well, considering I didn't drink anything last night, I can't imagine why I would be," he laughed, turning around as Xion began to reach for her clothes that were piled on a couch. Why didn't we go to sleep on the couch…?

I really wanted to ask him if Xion and I had done anything unforgivable, but the idea of asking him with her right there was, well, embarrassing. It shouldn't be, given that she probably wanted to ask him too, but something about bringing it up just didn't sit right in my head. The worst part is that I kept imagining Naminé with a hurt expression on her face… She's bound to find out about this somehow, and there's nothing I can do about it…

"Anyway, guys," the silver-haired sober one said with his back facing us, "come meet me in the kitchen when you're done changing; I have something to show to everyone."

Why did he say that so deviously? Riku, what the hell are you up to right now?! Ugh, if I wasn't so out of it right now, I'd be shouting question after question to him, but I'm sure my head wouldn't be able to take it. Sora's shouting is already bad enough as is, and he's upstairs somewhere…

"Oh, Roxas," Riku said, turning slightly as he stopped by the doorway, "I did you a favour and hung your shorts outside, along with…well, you'll see when you get them. Make sure you give those ones back to Tidus once you have yours."

Muttering only a simple "thanks", I watched him leave the room as I stood up and stretched. Really, though, why did he have to hang up my shorts? I'm kind of nervous to see what he wants to show everyone. Actually, scratch that, I'm completely freaked out over it. If I could remember more of last night, this might not be a huge deal, but all I can get are random glimpses that don't make much sense out of context…

"Roxas," Xion said quietly, though I still managed to hear her say it. "Um…how much do you remember of last night?"

I scratched my head, pondering as hard as I could over the fuzzy glimpses of memory I had. Unfortunately, try as I might to bring up an entire scene from the night before, all I was doing was increasing the throbbing pain in my temples.

"Not much," I sighed, slumping back against the couch. "All I can get are nonsensical glimpses, and they don't really seem to be of anything specific. Why?"

"Oh, just wondering," she exhaled, sounding somehow disappointed and relieved at the same time. "I…don't remember too much either…"

"I figured as much," I said, shrugging as I ignored the odd tone of her voice. "We must have drunk quite a bit to black out like this, huh?"

"I guess we did," she said, giving me a slight smile before stepping towards the doorway. "We should get going before Riku gets too impatient."

"Right," I agreed, and quickly stood to follow her into the kitchen.

Walking into the irritatingly bright kitchen, I noticed that Xion and I didn't look nearly as bad as some of the others. Almost everyone had huge bags under their eyes, but with Selphie's disheveled hair, Ven's heavily stained shirt, and…heh, I forgot about Sora's disease hair, I was glad that my only issue was Tidus' shorts.

"Morning," Aqua croaked out to us, leaning an elbow on the table with her head resting in her palm. Never thought I would see Aqua looking like this…or Kairi for that matter…

"Everyone here?!" Riku said obnoxiously loud, forcing all of us to clutch at our ears and heads. He is so dead for our next CoCK challenge…

"Hold that thought, boys, our CoCK challenge is already over," he continued, laughing away at our pain. Why is it that he seems to know exactly what I'm thinking this morning?

"What's that supposed to mean?" Terra growled, slumping onto a coffee table.

"In a second, Terra," Riku said smugly, pulling a laptop out from his bag. "Anyway, I needed to ask you guys something. Does anyone remember everything that happened last night?"

Everyone groggily looked around at each other, but it seemed that no one had any clear memories from the night before.

"I do," Paine grumbled, apparently not having a hangover but still looking rather sour. I guess she's always like that…

"Ah, care to explain everything to them?" Riku continued in the same manner.

"I'd rather not."

"Figured as much, that's why I have this!" he exclaimed, forcing everyone to cover their ears again, as he flipped open his laptop.

"Riku, you didn't!" Kairi gasped from the seat next to him, face turning red the moment she saw what was on his screen.

"Dick move, man!" Tidus also gasped from behind the two of them.

Hearing those reactions and seeing Riku's smirking expression, everyone else started to glance around nervously. What could he have on his screen? Pictures? I can handle pictures if that's all it is.

"Here, guys, take a look," the silvery teen laughed, turning the laptop so that we could all see the screen. Everyone gasped at the single sight that beheld us.

Now, I said I could handle pictures, but the only thing on the centre of Riku's screen was a single triangle with a point going to the right; in other words, a play button. And with a play button, that could only mean that he filmed something… Actually, more than just something, that timer at the bottom has forty minutes on it! With gaping mouths and pale faces, we slowly lifted our gazes from the screen to where he, Kairi, and Tidus were.

"Heh, naturally I couldn't film the entire night, and I had to edit out some in-between sections where nothing happens, but I'm pretty sure I got the best bits of the night compiled there," he chuckled snidely.

As Kairi and Tidus circled around the table to face Riku as well, he inconspicuously hit the play button. We were all too stunned to stop the video, and it was one of those moments where no one wanted to see, but at the same time couldn't help but watch the madness that was surely awaiting us.

"Oh my god, Riku, put that away!" video-Selphie squealed, shielding her face. "You're such a creeper!"

"Calm down, I'm just having a bit of fun," video-Riku replied, though we obviously couldn't see him since he was filming.

Everyone still appeared to be sitting around the living room, but it looked as though quite a few drinks had already been had. Music was playing from the stereo in the background, and I vaguely remembered this part since it was still relatively early in the night. In fact, it looked as though we were all sitting in the same spots we had been in shortly after Xion got there. I noticed video-me talking to video-Xion while sitting with two or three bottles beside me. It's funny, but from watching this you'd never know that she had given me the cold shoulder for a month.

"Ew, Ven, put your shirt back on!" video-Rikku laughed. "No one wants to see all that flab!"

I bit my lip to avoid laughing, but video-me wasn't quite so discreet. I don't know where these fat jokes started coming from – especially since his abs were clearly visible in the video – but they will never cease to amuse me. I glanced over at my brother, who was giving Rikku a rather dirty look.

"Hehe, blame it on the alcohol?" Rikku giggled guiltily at him. Oh, come off it, you guys make those jokes when you're sober!

The scene in the video suddenly changed, and we all seemed to be lying on the stairs for no reason. The camera angle was looking down at us all crawling up, and I can only imagine that we were trying to get up, but the reason escapes me. I think I was definitely too drunk to remember any of this…actually I know I was, because there I am at the bottom of the stairs…

"Riku, stop filming and help me, I have to pee!" video-Kairi whined from a few steps below video-Riku's feet.

"Aqua," video-Wakka huffed from somewhere farther down the stairs, "why's dere so many step in ya house, ya?"

"Sorry, but if YUNA AND TIDUS WOULD STOP SEXING IN THE DOWNSTAIRS BATHROOM, then we wouldn't have to do this," video-Aqua explained. Some giggles from both the video and those of us watching sounded out at that, and I'm sure Yuna and Tidus were blushing.

"Nice one, brudda," Wakka whispered to Tidus, giving him a fistbump. Okay, maybe only Yuna's embarrassed.

"Hey," I said when I realized something, "why isn't Paine ever in these shots?"

"Because I'm usually behind Riku," she grumbled behind me. "I don't get all stupid when I'm drinking."

Yeesh, it was just a question…

One by one, the video versions of us slowly made their way to the top of the stairs to line up for the bathroom. I chuckled a bit at the sound of all of us groaning when video-Tidus and video-Yuna finally got out of the bathroom downstairs. After all that wasted, drunken effort, all of us could have just waited an extra two minutes for the couple to get out of there.

Once again, the scene shifted, and everyone was standing outside by Aqua's pool. The only source of light was coming from the pool lights, so it was a bit hard to distinguish who everyone was.

"Alright, CoCKers ready?!" video-Sora shouted out.

"Wait, we did our challenge last night?" Sora asked as he scratched at his head. "Does this mean we aren't having one on Monday?"

"Pretty much," Riku said, rocking on the back legs of his chair.

"Ready!" the video versions of Ven, Terra, and I all shouted. I guess we were too out of it to care that Riku wasn't taking part…

"Okay, whoever can hold their breath the longest wins!" video-Sora slurred, stumbling by the edge of the water. "And we've gotta go in with our clothes on!"

Watching the four of us stumble around by the slippery pool edge was one of the more cringe-worthy things to behold. I'm sure I didn't fall because I didn't feel all that battered up this morning, but it still didn't look good, and every time one of us slipped or stumbled, one of the girls in the video and actually around me would breathe in sharply.

"Three, two, one, go!" video-Sora announced, and the four of us shamelessly splashed into the water, fully clothed.

"Hey, Wakka," video-Rikku's voice muttered, "go jump in and scare the crap out of them, will you?"

"Hells yeah, brudda!" he laughed, running towards the pools edge before leaping into a cannonball.

I'm almost ashamed of the fact that it was me who launched out of the water first… Ven and Terra jumped out soon after I did, but Sora was still under when Wakka surfaced.

"Sora!" video-Kairi squealed, running to the edge of the water and frantically looking around; I'm not sure why she did since it should have been pretty easy to see him in the water…

The camera hurried over to look in as well, making me believe that Riku may have actually been worried about his best friend. Aww, well, isn't that cute?

"Boo!" video-Sora shouted as he popped out of the water. It wasn't for long, however, as he quickly grabbed Kairi by her shoulders and dragged her into the water with him.

_*Whack*_

"Ow, hey, what was that for?!" Sora complained as he rubbed his head.

"What do you think, dummy?!" Kairi bickered with him, earning light chuckles from all of us.

Turning back to the screen, we could see the exact same thing happen, except they were in the water. Video-Riku asked them if they were okay, but it seemed they weren't listening when they emerged in each other's arms. They'd started giggling too much amongst themselves to care what he was saying and…oh…um…okay, makeout time…

_*Whack*_

"Stop it, Kairi!" Sora said as she smacked him upside the head again.

"You took advantage of my drunken state!" she argued as she pounded his shoulder with her fists.

"It looked pretty mutual to me- OW, STOP!" he cried out.

"Well, Sora's a little busy," video-Terra said, despite the wolf whistles around him, and getting Riku's camera shot to move away from the two pool lovebirds. "So, I guess since I'm the runner-up, I'll choose Roxas' punishment."

Oh, geez, I had to do something and I don't even remember it… This is not gonna be good at all… Wait, what if he made me sleep with Xion?! I swear if he did, I'll…I'll…there really isn't much someone like me can do to Terra, is there? If only he weren't such a friggin' tank…

"Roxas!" video-Terra boomed, stepping over to video-me. "You have to call Naminé and ask her out…on speaker phone…with all of us in the room listening!"

People in the video cheered in agreement, and even all of them around me now murmured things like "not bad" and "good one, Terra". Some friends they are…and why would Selphie, Rikku, and somewhat Yuna be happy about that? Unless they want to hear her reject me…

"You got it!" video-me said enthusiastically, swiping my phone off the table I'd had the drunken foresight to put it on before jumping in the water.

The scene changed again, and we were all now sitting in Aqua's living room again. Ven, Terra, and I were all shirtless and wearing dry shorts while Sora and Kairi huddled together under a blanket. I don't know if they're wearing clothes under that, and I really can't be bothered to ask…

Video-me pressed a few things on my phone before the dial tone sounded. Everyone hushed both on-screen and those of us watching, eager to see what would happen if she picked up.

"Hello?" Naminé's voice sounded from the speakerphone.

"Hey, Nam, it's me," video-me said naturally. In fact, it sounded strangely normal for my drunken state of mind. Beside video-me, video-Xion and some of the others were biting their lips in attempt to stifle their laughter.

"Hey, Nam, it's me," video-Riku mocked in a stupid voice, causing everyone in the video to start quivering with silent giggles. I shot him a glare, but he directed my eyes back to the computer screen.

"Hi, Roxas! What's up?" she asked cheerfully, and I could feel my heart leap at the sudden enthusiasm in her voice. I'm sure video-me was feeling the same, as his-…er, my face turned red.

"Not much, just thought I'd see what you're up to," video-me said rather smoothly. Man, I sure know how to keep cool and calm while under the influence…

"Well, I got back from dinner a little while ago so now I'm just painting," she said melodically, causing my heart to melt a bit as I watched the scene unfold. Seriously, if I can say that her voice was melodic when it's coming through a filmed recording of a speakerphone conversation, that's saying something. "Not that I'm complaining, but how come you're calling me? Aren't you at a party with everyone?"

"Oh, u-uh, yeah, I am," video-me stuttered, holding a finger up to my mouth to make sure everyone stayed silent, though it looked like they all might explode from giggles at any second. "They're, uh, all doing something in the other room. Said I couldn't come in because it was about me, I dunno, I just did what they said."

Nice save by me, even if it was the worst excuse I've ever heard in my life. "That's weird," she giggled, making video-me's face turn an even deeper shade of red. "I wish I could've come, but there'll be more chances for that, I guess."

"Y-Yeah," video-me stuttered, trying not to stumble on my words as video-Terra motioned for me to get on with it. "A-Anyway, listen, Naminé, I had something that I, er, wanted to ask you…"

"Oh?" she said, and it was at that moment that video-me decided to take a huge gulp of whatever was in that bottle next to me, probably to prepare for what I was about to say. "Well, ask away, then."

By that point, everyone in the video was practically bursting at the seams either from giggles they wanted to let out or anticipation of what would happen. "I…uh…well…that is," video-me said, trying to stall for time, "I was wondering…maybe…if you want…"

"Will you go out with me?!" video-Ven burst out, forcing several of the group in the video to run out of the room so they could let their laughs out. Damn, sometimes having the same voice as Ven can really suck…

"P-Pardon?" Naminé's voice quavered out. "I d-don't think I heard that right."

Do girls really have to make guys repeat themselves after we've said something frightfully difficult? It's almost worse to ask it a second time because all the pressure buildup just stay with you!

"I, um," video-me stuttered, slapping a hand over video-Ven's mouth, "I was wondering if you'd…maybe want to go out with me…"

A tense silence followed that, and no one in the video or any of us watching made a sound. The only noise that could be heard was the ticking of a clock, marking each agonizing second of silence. It was only about twenty seconds, but I'm sure that it must have felt like hours in the moment.

"Roxas?" she quietly spoke through the phone. "I…um…I…wasn't expecting you to ask that over the phone… I…gee, how should I put this…"

Everyone was leaned in in anticipation for what her response was. Honestly, I was expecting her to simply say no or ask if she could talk to me about it some other time, but she was making it sound like there was more to it. Hell, I could even feel myself leaning in towards the screen.

"Are you drunk?"

Once again, another deafening silence filled both rooms, and I wasn't even sure what I should be thinking. I'm sure I was a little dumbstruck during the situation, and no one else seemed to know how to react to what she'd just asked me.

"Um," video-me began, scratching at my chin to think of something to tell her, "I don't know what that has to do with it, but yeah."

"I figured," she sighed, but let out a short giggle. "I won't bother answering your question because you wouldn't remember my answer either way."

"Oh," video-me said in disappointment, obviously crushed that that was the route she'd decided to go on. Who could blame me? I was feeling a bit down just watching the scene happen. "Okay, well, I have something else to tell you."

"What is it?"

Video-me glanced around the room mischievously and grinned widely before bringing the phone to his mouth and saying, "Everyone's here and listening. By the way this is Ven."

At that, all the drunks in the video started laughing uncontrollably, sans video-Ven because he was busy yelling at video-me. Luckily, we were still able to make out Naminé's response.

"Oh my gosh, Ven, you chubby jerk!"

_*Beep* End of call._

At that, everyone watching the video burst out laughing, obviously except for Ven, who was fuming by himself and poking at his abs. Of course, the laughter didn't last long when everyone's headaches started acting up again.

The screen suddenly went pitch dark, and it looked like the video was over, except that the bar at the bottom was still going.

"There, the camera's off," someone that sounded like video-Riku whispered. "Now what's this about?"

"What do you mean 'what's this about'; you're the one who pestered me to tell you I like him!" a girl's voice whisper-shouted. Because she was whispering, we couldn't tell who was talking.

"Heh, fair enough," video-Riku whispered back. "Did you want me to help with anything?"

"I don't know," she sighed, seemingly hesitant to keep talking. "Just…what am I supposed to do, Riku? You saw his face earlier."

"Honestly, there isn't a lot for me to tell you," video-Riku responded flatly. "You've just gotta go for it; make him see why you're the right one."

Then the scene changed suddenly, and this time everyone was lazing about in the room, sprawled out on couches, the table, the floor, pretty much anywhere they could lie down.

"Hold on a sec, just who were you talking to, Riku?" Tidus demanded, pausing the video so that everyone could focus on the interrogation.

"Why's that matter?" the smug teen shrugged, looking a little less satisfied with his compilation video. It seemed as though he'd meant to edit that part out.

"It matters because we want to know what that was all about!" Terra boomed, though instantly regretted it as we all clutched our heads again.

"It doesn't matter," Riku said, shrugging and reaching to push the play button again. "Besides, I promised her that I wouldn't say anything."

"Yeah, but you also promised her that the camera was off," Ven argued, earning nods of agreement from all of us.

"Look, I put the lens on, and you can't even tell who it was, so I'm more or less keeping my promise. Geez you guys are so nosy; just watch the rest!" Riku said, pushing the play button before any of us had a chance to interject again.

"I'm so sleepy," video-Yuna yawned, nuzzling into video-Tidus' chest.

"Me too," video-Aqua said, lazily getting to her feet. "I'm gonna go to bed. You guys can crash anywhere except my parents' room, 'kay?"

"I'll come with you!" video-Ven and video-Terra spoke up at the same time, shooting competitive glances at each other.

"Hmhm," video-Aqua giggled lightly, "you boys can come along, but you're staying _outside_ the room, got that?"

"Yes, Aqua," they both sighed, hanging their heads as they followed after her.

"Dibs on the guest room!" video-Sora said, shooting up with a surprising amount of energy and dragging video-Kairi out of sight.

_*Whack*_

"Looks like someone's getting it tonight," video-Riku's voice chuckled as it followed them down the hallway until they turned up the staircase. From the look of it, they hadn't been wearing any clothes under that blanket…

"Hey, Xion," video-me said, prodding the half-asleep girl using my belly as a pillow. "Xiiioooon, you awake?"

"Mmmm, no," she groaned, flipping over so that her face was buried in my sternum.

"Heh, that's convincing," video-me slurred, obviously still quite drunk. "Riku…hey, Riku…wanna help me carry her somewhere more comfortable?"

"Why, you can't carry her on your own?" video-Riku's voice asked jeeringly.

"If you want me to kill us both trying to carry her, then by all means I'll do it," video-me laughed for no real reason.

The cameraman sighed and stood up, handing his camera to video-me so that he could carry video-Xion himself. Still laughing without reason other than because I was drunk, the video became noticeably shakier and a bit tilted as the new cameraman attempted to follow after video-Riku and video-Xion. It was quite the wobbly ride, and Selphie actually ran out of the room to puke because the camera was moving so much. Well, that and the fact that we're all hung over…

Eventually, the camera had made its way into the den where Xion and I had woken up this morning. Video-Riku was kind enough to lay her down on the couch before snatching away the camera.

"You gonna crash in here too?" he asked video-me. "There probably isn't enough room on the couch for both of you."

"Yeah, I'll just pull up some floor, man," video-me chuckled, patting his shoulder before laying myself on the ground.

"Heh, well, here's a blanket and a pillow," he said, tossing said items over video-me's shirtless torso before heading out.

"Well," video-Riku's voice said as he walked back into the living room where the remaining people were crashing out, "guess I'd better start this compilation."

With that, the video ended, and everyone's expressions were mixed. Some people were glad that there wasn't too much footage of them; others were wondering what happened with everyone that had their own private rooms.

Personally, I was wondering a few things myself. For one, Riku said that my shorts and other things were hanging outside. I guess he grabbed my shirt for me since he remembered I was topless, but what would he have left out there with my shorts? Secondly, Xion was still fully clothed and on the couch when he put us to bed…

"_Roxas. Um…how much do you remember of last night?"_

I blinked hard and shook my head as Xion's question from earlier resurfaced in my mind. Why did that of all things come back to me just now? That shouldn't be important, should it? After all, she said that she didn't remember much either, so clearly she was just seeing if I could help jog her memory, right?

Regardless, I still had to get my shorts back, so instead of talking with the others, I stood up and headed to the door leading to the backyard.

And there were my shorts, hanging on a clothesline right next to my boxers… How I'd managed to go commando this whole time without realizing was just beyond my understanding in every way…

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

"Sounds like you had a fun weekend," Naminé giggled, poking my face with her paintbrush.

"Hey," I laughed back, trying to wipe the paint off, but only smearing it across my cheek. "Yeah, I did…well, Sunday wasn't so fun, but overall it was pretty good."

"Mm, I wish I could've gone to that party," she sighed, turning back to her canvas. "It sounds like you guys had a lot of fun."

I paused for a moment, thinking back on all the video clips in the compilation. It was after school on Monday now, and Nam and I were sitting in the art room as usual, talking about our weekends. She didn't have much to talk about, so she left it to me to describe the party to her. Though I did tell her about the video Riku made, I left out how Xion and I slept in the same room and woke up with almost no clothes on. In my defense, I went to sleep the same way I woke up, but I never found out why Xion was only in her underwear…

"So, did Riku film Ven calling me, too?" she chuckled warmly, keeping her eyes on the canvas.

"Huh, Ven? …OH, right, uh, yeah, about that," I stumbled on my words. Apparently I'm a lot more flustered sober… "Heh, that wasn't actually Ven…I was just too embarrassed to say it was me…at least, I think I was."

As the words left my mouth, Nam's hand froze on the canvas, and her smile faded into a straight line. As if to punish myself, I began wringing my hand behind my back, mentally cursing for admitting to that.

"Then…it was a serious question…" she asked nervously, eyes still fixated on the canvas.

"Um…" I began, biting on my lip while I thought of a way out of this. Technically I wasn't in the right state of mind to say that I had meant it, but I know that I had only been so willing to do it because I _was_ in that state of mind. Had I been sober, I don't think I would have rolled over so easily.

"Roxas, I think that-"

"Sorry, I wasn't explaining myself correctly," I cut her off before she could say anything else. "We were all drinking and Sora decided he wanted us to do our little lunchtime competition then instead of today. I ended up losing, so my punishment was that I had to ask you out right then on speakerphone. To be honest, I don't even remember doing it, but I guess I got embarrassed at the end and told you that I was Ven playing a prank on us."

"Oh, is that so?" she breathed out, sounding both relieved and sad at the same time. Why would she be sad? I'm probably thinking about it too much. "Well, at least that's settled. After I…y'know…your cheek on Friday night, I thought maybe you were under the impression that I wanted us to move forward."

"Heh, why would I? You've kissed my cheek before," I chuckled, remembering our first 'date' at the beginning of the year.

"I suppose," she said shyly, and I couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy at her bashfulness. Honestly, she's just too adorable when she starts talking about relationship-y type stuff.

"Oh, shoot, I've gotta get home," I said, noticing the clock on the wall. "I promised my mom I'd make dinner tonight, so I'll catch you later, okay, Nam?"

"Okay, bye!" she said as I grabbed my stuff and hurried out of the room.

I rushed down the stairs and started heading towards the staircase to the first floor. As I was making my way down the hall, I stopped as I was about to round the corner. Normally I would have kept going, but something perked my ears in a way that forced me to hide and listen.

"V.D.?" asked an older teacher. "The only person I recognize with those initials is Vanitas Destati, and he hasn't been at this school in for three years now!"

"Ah, how strange," said a different teacher. "It's hard to believe that there was an old box in the main janitor's office with his initials on it. You'd have thought that someone would have noticed it by now."

"Maybe the caretaker simply thought it was an old box of supplies? He's the only one with keys to the janitor's office, and he just went on a personal one-month leave. You said Principal Tellah was getting something out of there when he noticed the box?"

"Yes. Apparently he took a peek inside and saw some old school supplies and such, but didn't bother to look any further. When he was finished getting whatever it was that he needed, he gave the keys back to the caretaker before allowing him to take his leave."

"Ah, how unfortunate. Vanitas was a student of mine, and I'd have liked to have his things delivered to his family. It's only right, since he was in a rather tragic accident."

"I see, well, perhaps in a month's time we can ask the caretaker for the box since we know the owner. What was the caretaker's name again?"

"I believe it's something with a J… Ah, yes, that's right, it's Jenova. Sephiroth Jenova!"

That name…where had I heard that name before? Wait…no…it couldn't be…

"_Even if it means seeing your old friends, the Jenova brothers?" _Saïx had asked Axel about them on the night of the dance.

"_Yes, even if it comes to that."_

If there's any relation to this Jenova and the Jenova brothers, then that box could potentially hold some vital information about the incident with the original Organization! If I have to wait a month to find something out, then I'll do it: whatever it takes to find these things out.

This school's secrets just got a whole lot more complex…

* * *

Oh boy, a whole chapter of fun and laughter, and then a bomb gets dropped. I couldn't just write a chapter that doesn't suddenly switch back to the other plotline ;). Oh, and that little exchange between Riku and someone should be somewhat obvious about who the girl is, but I won't say it in case there's anyone who didn't figure it out. There is a hint in there, though, in that I like to play around with people's in-game lines in this story. Also, I apologize if the video section got a bit confusing to tell when it was the video people and actual people talking. Hopefully it was clear enough with all the video-[name] prefixes.

For the next chapter, it will skip a month to get to Sephiroth's return (which is also related to events in this). I know that some of you are probably much more curious about the Xion thing, but I don't want to rush things out with her. All will be revealed in a future chapter: why her clothes were off, why she was asking if he remembered anything, if they really did have sex or not.

Thanks to **roxasduelwielder, DuelRoxas16, VATR, Mina Arellano, DarkAceKirby, **and **ICanHazSkillz** for reviewing!

Thanks for reading and please review!

_-GengaJupite_


	18. Has he been stalking Xion and I?

Gah, so behind on everything right now! I've been really busy lately, so I didn't get a chance to start writing this until late. I'll apologize now if this chapter turns out poorly because of that.

Anyway, on top of being busy with work and stuff, I haven't been very active on FanFiction because of other stuff too. I started watching _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_, which is already proving to be one of my favourite animes. Sort of jokingly, I also started playing Maplestory for the first time in about six years. I remember it being really hard, and I only got my main to level forty-something, but I think I just sucked, since I just got my new main to level sixty after playing for a total of about ten hours… If any of you guys play, feel free to add me (though I can't promise that I'll do much with you since I'm a soloer…like Kirito!). World: Renegades, Name: GengaJupite.

Okay, enough rambling.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Has he been stalking Xion and I?_

It's been exactly one month since the day I overheard that conversation. For this past while, I haven't really done anything except bide my time until this day arrived. I'm sure everyone has noticed how passive I've been unless it concerned plans for the beginning of this month. I don't care how they think of me, though; all I care about is uncovering the truth behind Vanitas, the Organization, and what happened three years ago.

I kept having this nagging feeling to ask someone about it. I wanted to get some more in-depth information on Vanitas, but the only people that would know are Axel, Naminé, and Sora, though I'm not sure how much Sora actually knows. It's strange, most would assume that Sora would know the most about this situation involving his hospitalized brother, but I can't shake the idea that he would know the least of the three of them. After all, if he knew about all of this, he probably would have reported it to the police or the school or someone!

Axel, of course, was out of the question. How could I possibly go asking that lying scumbag about something like this? I could already hear his answer in my head.

"_You're asking about Vanitas again? Sorry, man, I told you everything I know. Now let's go see what Naminé's up to."_

Maybe I'm generalizing his personality, but the basic points are there. He would outright lie about any knowledge on the incident, despite the fact that he was the problem, and would then try to redirect it to something else.

Then there was Naminé, whom I had yet to speak to about it in the first place. That had been my goal for a long time, but I remember that I didn't have the nerve to do it. Well, that and I couldn't concentrate on anything but how absolutely amazing she looked… Stop it, Roxas, you're losing focus again!

So now that brings me here, where I'm currently tapping my pen in impatience as the clock ticks away. The teacher is rambling on about some war in the past, Xion is doodling on my notes, and Aqua is constantly nudging me to pay attention. There are only five minutes left of class, but all this waiting feels like a lifetime.

_Tick. Tick._

My bag is pretty much packed; all I have to do is shove my notebook in there and get out of the classroom as soon as the bell goes. I have to make sure I beat the flood of people so I can get where I need to in time.

_Tick. Tick._

Three minutes left, why is he still teaching? By this point, most teachers would have let their students get ready to leave. In fact, he usually does, but I guess today he decided that he was going to talk on and on about stuff no one cares about. Sheesh, why am I even in this class? I'm pretty sure my notebook is filled more with Xion's crappy doodles than anything academic.

_Tick. Tick._

"Roxas, pay attention," Aqua whispered to me. "This stuff is gonna be on the test next week!"

"Sure, got it," I answered offhandedly, keeping my focus on the clock. Why doesn't she reprimand Xion? It's not like she's paying attention either.

_Tick. Tick._

One more minute, one more minute! Come on, time, hurry up! I don't care if that makes no sense; I'm getting anxious here! I've been waiting for this day for a month, and I already know it isn't going to be pretty. All the timing has to be right, and this whole thing could turn out badly if I don't play my cards right.

_Ding. Ding. Ding._

"SorrygottagoI'llseeyouguysaround!" I sputtered, tearing my book from Xion's hands and racing out of the room without looking back to see any of the odd looks I must have been receiving.

Once I was out of the room, I sped down the hallways and basically ripped the lock off of my locker to exchange all of my things. As luck would have it, my locker was on the other side of the school from the janitor's office, so I would have to be extra quick about everything.

With all of the right books and whatnot in my bag, I slammed my locker and ran off, snaking between the small crowds of people that were beginning to form. This felt like some sort of weird obstacle course that got harder the farther I went into it. With the crowds piling up and hallways becoming rather congested I was having a hard time going as fast as I wanted to. Turn right here, another right here, now go left, right…WAIT, backtrack and go straight!

"Roxas, I just made some brownies in foods class; you want one?" I heard Sora say from up ahead of me.

"Thanks, gotta go, see ya!" I called back as I passed him by, snatching a brownie from his hand. I think he shouted after me, but it was hard to tell what he said over the other people.

Okay, almost there, it's just around this last corner. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I've ever seen any of the janitors around here before. Who am I even supposed to be looking for? Well, let's just hope he's by the office. It shouldn't be too hard to tell him apart from the other people, especially if he has a mop or a broom or something.

As I was speedwalking down the hallway, another thought crossed my mind. What if he wasn't here? The teachers had said he would be back in one month, but that didn't necessarily mean he'd be back on this exact day. For all I knew, this guy wouldn't be coming back to work until next week; after all, it wouldn't make sense for him to come back in the middle of the week. If he isn't back, then will I have to speak to one of the other caretakers? I really hope that isn't the case.

_*Thud*_

I stumbled back a few steps before falling over as I collided with someone. Had I been paying a bit more attention, I probably wouldn't have run into him as I was rounding the corner.

"Sorry," I groaned, looking at the person I'd just run into.

Oh. Crap. Not a student. I just crashed into a teacher. An intimidating one.

"Forget about it," the man said in a monotonous voice. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," I said, but winced as I leaned on my left hand to get up.

"You are injured," he said in that same tone. "Come with me."

He extended his hand to help me up, so I reached up with my right arm and took it. Who was this guy, anyway? I'd never seen him before. Despite the fact that he didn't look a day over thirty, long, silvery-white hair cascaded down his back in a straight fashion. All of his clothes were black, and his grip was surprisingly strong for his skinny frame.

I wanted to tell him I was fine, but something about that mysteriously monotone voice made me think twice about doing so. What about this man was leading me astray from my mission? I was supposed to be finding the caretaker!

He unlocked a door and gestured for me to follow him in. Again, I was oddly compliant, but I couldn't hold back my gasp when I read the sign next to the door he'd just opened.

**Janitor's Office**

There was only one key to this office, and only one person had this key…

"Sit down," he more or less commanded as I stepped in the room. Complying without much hesitation, I did as he told me while he closed the door behind him.

The office looked pretty much the way you might expect a storage closet to look, only it was quite a bit bigger and had a window at the back. Shelves lined with cleaning materials were attached to the walls all around the room, and a few brooms and mops leaned against the far corner near the window. A ceiling fan was spinning above us, though I could hardly feel the air it was pushing down.

The guy who I'm now assuming is Sephiroth was currently digging through a small fridge of sorts. After a few moments of rustling, he pulled out a Ziploc bag filled with ice and handed it to me. I took it without a second thought and rested the chilling plastic on my wrist as he took a seat on the other side of this black, metal desk I forgot to mention.

"Your name is Destati, correct?" he questioned, still showing no sign of emotion in his voice at all.

I leaned back slightly at that, as if distancing myself by those few extra centimeters would make him forget I was there. Really, I was just trying to figure out the best way to answer. It isn't often that a complete stranger knows who you are and interrogates you in a private room…

"And if I am?" I retorted, hoping to spare myself from any sort of strange tactics that Sephiroth had planned.

He let out a single breathy chuckle, though his face showed no amusement, nor did his next statement. "You seem to be on the defensive."

"This isn't exactly a normal situation," I answered a bit more bravely than I could say I was feeling.

"Fair enough," he said, leaning forward so that his elbows were resting on the desk. "Let's assume you are a Destati. I presume you've come to enact vengeance upon me?"

Now I was confused. He expected me to come in and attack him? He was going to let me?! I didn't intend to hurt him; in fact, all I wanted was to get in, grab the box labeled V.D., and get the hell out of there!

"Vengeance? If you thought I was going to hurt you, why would you lead me into this room that no one else can enter?"

For a moment, Sephiroth didn't say anything to me. He simply sat there and eyed me carefully, his pupils slowly shifting left and right as he examined my profile. There was nothing I could really do in the situation, so I did my best to seem closed off.

"Tell me," he broke the silence, "how much do you know about the incident involving the Jenova brothers?"

At the mention of that name, I tensed, and the ghost of a smirk showed itself at the very edges of the caretaker's lips. Well, he'd pretty much trapped me here. My reaction had made it obvious that I was a part of this.

"Not very much," I answered a bit gruffly, crossing my arms lazily. "I know it happened three years ago, three of the original Organization members had their lives ruined by it, and it had something to do with the Jenova brothers."

"Hmm, so you know about as much as any," he mused, continuing with that irritatingly monotone voice. "Call it odd coincidence, but there also happened to be three Jenova brothers, all of whom are still alive and well today."

"Whoop-de-doo," I cheered sarcastically. "I'm glad the culprits are doing so well…"

"Oh, but you know that they aren't the actual culprits," he said questioningly. "You stumbled a bit as if you had more to say."

Damn, I didn't really think much of that. "Fine," I grumbled, looking crossly at my interrogator, "I know that one of my close friends, or former close friend rather, was the one who actually ended up hurting at least one of them." As he was about to say more, I cut him off. "Why do you know so much about all of this?"

Laying his arms flat in front of him, he looked me deep in the eye, and spoke somehow more menacingly, despite still being rather monotone.

"I am Sephiroth Jenova. The Jenova brothers, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, are my sons."

A deafening silence filled the room, with only the sound of the fan blades creaking to provide some background noise. I was at a loss for words. I had had a suspicion that he was somehow related when those teachers mentioned his last name, but their father? Other than the fact that this guy must be older than I thought, he knew everything about this incident, yet he hadn't gone to anyone.

"I am guessing you have a few questions for me, so I'll be brief," he said before I could even form a full question to ask him. "I am aware of the entire event that happened three years ago. Back then, I was a much busier man, so I could not monitor all the things that my sons were getting up to. As such, it wasn't until the day of the incident that I realized what they were doing."

I don't know why my first question turned out to be so random, but I couldn't help but blurt it out. "Then why the hell are you a janitor now?!"

Again, a tiny smirk showed on his lips as he answered me. "As a parent, I had to do the right thing and report the incident to the school. Of course, I believed it to be an act of gang violence at the time, and so the identities of those involved were somewhat concealed. I transferred my sons to a correctional school, and decided that the only way to properly monitor things would be to directly involve myself here. After all, it isn't unlikely that this "Organization XIII" could get in another mix-up with my boys."

"A few months after I quit my old job and came here," he continued, "I discovered that the three boys my sons fought with had all suffered unspeakable fates. As the new caretaker, it was my job to cut the locks off of the boys' lockers and gather all of their belongings to be returned or thrown away. It was then that I found out what all of this was really about."

At that, he stood and walked over to one of the back shelves. I eyed him cautiously as he ran his hand along the shelves, apparently searching for something. When he finally grabbed it, he pulled the thing from its spot and walked back to the desk.

"This is what you came here for, is it not?" he said as he slid the object over to me.

This was it; there could be no mistaking it. A wooden box of sorts with the initials V.D. written in black marker across the lid. The hinge was a bit rusted, but it seemed as though it would still open. Without answering Sephiroth, I popped open the latches and lifted the lid.

"It's just a box of school supplies," I said blankly, slowly bringing my gaze back up to the silver-haired man.

"At first glance, that is what it would appear to be," he said, shrugging a bit. "However, I have a question for you that relates to what may be in that box."

"Then ask."

"Very well. Over the past few years I have been monitoring the activities of Organization XIII. I am not permitted to directly interfere with anything they do, but perhaps you could enlighten me on these business tactics that Xemnas has been employing."

I shrugged and pulled out one of Van's old pencil cases from the box. "We deliver random stuff to people so that we can raise funds for events. That's what Organization XIII is: an event-organizing committee."

"You truly believe that is it? There is nothing suspicious going on with what you are trading?"

I gave him an odd look before continuing. If he knew all of the things that the Organization was doing, why wouldn't he report it? "I used to," I lied, trying to come up with a viable excuse, "but most of our deliveries are done in broad daylight. Sometimes there are even teachers who pass by us during these exchanges."

"Teachers won't do anything unless you look suspicious. My guess is that you and that girl they send you off with are the least suspicious, which is why you have been meeting with all of the shadier people."

It's a little creepy that he knows that… Has he been stalking Xion and I?

"I'd like to know something," he said, turning to gaze out the window at the back of the room. "What is χ?"

I inhaled sharply, the sound of that bringing up the awful memory of Axel. So, even χ isn't a mystery to Mr. Jenova over here. Well, a mystery in the sense that he knows it exists, but doesn't know what it is.

"If you want to know the truth, you'll have to ask someone else," I said, playing with the latch on Vanitas' old pencil case. "I've only heard that word come up in a conversation I wasn't supposed to hear, but I don't know what it is."

"Perhaps you should open that case, then," he said, still facing away, as if he knew I was going to say that to him.

Now I was feeling a bit nervous about this. I'm guessing that there aren't any pencils in this case. I probably should have assumed that when I didn't hear any rattle around, but that hadn't been the most pressing thing on my mind. Would opening this be the answer, though? Would it contain everything I'd hoped to find out? If it did, would things be any different, or would we simply continue doing exactly what we're doing now?

I could feel my hand trembling as I slowly undid the latch. This was a monumental moment in this crazy, effed up jumble of crap I'd gotten myself involved with. This was the moment of truth; the answer to my questions could potentially be hidden beneath this lid. All I have to do…is lift it!

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"Remember, we are the only two, other than perhaps a select few others, who know about this now. If you hold up your end of the bargain, no one will be reported, Roxas."

"I understand."

With that, I quietly exited the janitor's office and headed down the empty halls. The only things I'd left that room with that I hadn't entered with were the bag of melting ice I was holding to my wrist, and the knowledge of something that I wasn't sure if I should know or not. It was terrifying, yet I felt almost excited from finally having something cleared up. The knowledge was good, but the contents were…not quite as earnest.

"Where've you been?" a voice sounded as I passed by a perpendicular hallway. "You know, I waited by your locker for a whole fifteen minutes."

"What for?" I grumbled without looking at him.

"'Cause we haven't spent a lot of time together, that's why, buddy!" the redheaded porcupine said, flopping and arm over my shoulder as he leaned down to my height. "What, you in a bad mood or something?"

Despite finding out some of the answers I'd been looking for, my impression of Axel hadn't changed. If anything, I was actually more peeved at him for getting Xion and I involved in all of this in the first place. Well, Xion wasn't quite as involved as I was, but that's because she has no relation to Vanitas. I, on the other hand, was very much involved with everything.

"Not especially," I answered flatly. "I was just gonna check if Nam is still here before heading home."

"Pfft, you buzzkill," he groaned, removing his arm from my shoulder and walking beside me in a Sora-esque pose. "Don't you ever have time for other people; specifically moi?"

"Nope," I said a bit jokingly so he'd get off my case, "only Naminé, 24/7."

"Geez, kids these days," he chuckled, flipping around so that he was walking backwards. I can't wait until he walks into a wall…

I didn't really have anything to say to Axel, as I had other things on my mind. One of those was letting Sora and Ven in on everything I'd just found out. I was trying to battle my morals with my wits, and it wasn't helping. With the deal I'd made with Sephiroth, it made much more sense to keep my mouth shut, unless I wanted people getting in heaps of trouble; however, my morals were to my family, and family should come first. Of course, family includes Vanitas, and letting Sora and Ven know could get him in more trouble than ever… Gah, what am I supposed to do?!

"I was thinking of getting together with Xion this weekend," he said suddenly, continuing to walk backwards. "It's more fun when it's the three of us, though. You in?"

"Maybe," I stated blankly. "I might be busy."

"Dude, you've been busy every time I ask if you wanna chill," he complained, waving his hands a bit for added effect. "Can't you make any time for your good buddy over here?"

"I could, but not if it's a family thing," I said, hoping that implying that it was a family matter would deter him from pestering me. It didn't work.

"Heh, I'm basically family, man. We're like brothers, brother!" he threw his head back and laughed. "What if I said you could bring Naminé along?"

I chuckled a bit. Nice bribery on his part… "That's a terrible idea. You would piss me off for the entire time."

"Relax, it was a joke," he chuckled as well. "Besides, it probably wouldn't be a great idea with Xion there and all."

"Huh?" I said in confusion. What difference would it make if Xion and Naminé were both there?

Axel sighed and shook his head following my question. "Never mind, it's nothing."

When we passed by the art room, Naminé wasn't there. Damn, she must have gone home already. I was hoping that I'd be able to ditch Axel by going and talking to her. It's one of the few things he would step away for. I suppose my run-in with Sephiroth took longer than I'd expected it to. It makes me wonder why Axel is still here…

"Why are you still here, anyway?" I changed the topic as we started heading to the front entrance.

"Hm? Oh, I had a delivery to make," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Funny, you seem to be busy with those, but Xion and I have only gotten one or two in this past month," I said, alluding to the conversation between Axel and Saïx without letting him know I'd overheard it.

"Psh, you shouldn't complain about that kinda stuff," he chortled, though there was a hint of seriousness hidden underneath. "You're free to go do whatever, and you don't have to keep taking orders from Xemnas all the time. You've got a pretty sweet deal going."

"That or he doesn't trust us," I challenged.

Axel sighed and shut his eyes as he continued walking backwards. Opening them slowly, he gave me a hard look before speaking.

"Roxas, I don't know where this conversation is going, but it's kinda killing my mood right now. Let's go back to weekend plans; you and Xion come over on Friday, sound good?"

"I have to visit Vanitas this Friday."

"God dammit, Roxas! Just come over after or something! Man, you have got to be the most difficult person to make plans with."

"I'll think about it," was all that was said before Axel finally crashed into a wall.

Laughing, I continued walking out the door that he had missed and started on my way home. I needed a chance to think, and him crashing was my chance.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to tell Sora and Ven about any of the things I found out in the janitor's office. I think I'll wait a few days before I make that decision. After all, I hadn't been lying to Axel when I said I was going to be visiting Vanitas on Friday.

This time, however, I would be going alone. I have a few questions about χ that I'm certain he'll be able to answer…

* * *

Short chapter is short. Crappy chapter is crappy.

Yeah, I didn't really like how this chapter turned out, but it was a necessary filler chapter. I know that's an oxymoron, but that exchange between Sephiroth and Roxas is important. You won't be finding out what was in the pencil case or what they discussed for a little bit though ;)

Anyway, Roxas is gonna go visit Vanitas on his own. What could he have to ask about χ? You'll have to wait a couple weeks to find out! Depending on how I plan out what the two of them are going to discuss, the Sephiroth-Roxas conversation may or may not be revealed in this next chapter. We'll see how things work out.

Thanks to **DuelRoxas16, roxasduelwielder, VATR, tsukuneXmoka, DarkAceKirby, funni neko, **and** InsidetheFire475** for reviewing!

Thanks for reading and please review! Also, let me know of any ways to make this chapter better. If I can find the time, I might rewrite it, though I'm afraid that time is short for me these days.

_-GengaJupite_


	19. Because I'm going to protect you

Wow, I've been crazy slow with my writing lately… I'd blame it on school coming up soon, but it's also because I haven't really had much inspiration to write anything. I'm sure that'll change once school starts, since I tend to get back into fanfics and such when I'm trying to avoid doing schoolwork :P. I guess saying all that is void, though, since I got this chapter up a day early.

Also, and I'm going to use this as a legitimate reason if my update rate starts going down the toilet, on top of going back to school next week, some fanfic friends and I are starting our own visual novel that crosses over franchises like _Kingdom Hearts, Golden Sun, Jak and Daxter,_ among others. It's still in the very early development stages, but here's a link to the site.

fandomallstars (a dot) weebly (a dot) com

And in case you're wondering where I am on the writer's list; I'm not a writer :P. I'm actually doing the music for it since that's what I'd rather be doing anyway.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

* * *

_Because I'm going to protect you_

Day: Friday. Time: Twenty after three. Location: Destiny Islands General Hospital.

I had been keeping track of those things all day, marking the minutes in my head as I passed the time. I wasn't exactly excited to be here again, but I needed to see Van. After finding out what was in that box of his, I had to speak to him. He might not remember; hell, I'll be more surprised if he does, but that won't change what I'm about to do. Taking a deep breath, I locked my car and stepped towards the sliding doors of the hospital entrance.

I remembered my way to the mental ward, as I had come here last week with my family. The purified air was oddly stagnant to my nostrils as I headed towards my destination. Perhaps it's just my imagination, but I can't help but feel as though doing this is…wrong. After all, I shouldn't be questioning someone that's in such an unstable condition. If things go badly, he might attack me; he did that time I asked him about the Organization. If anything, this will only serve to fuel the fire I saw in his eyes last time.

"Good afternoon," said the clerk as I entered the waiting area. "Are you here to see someone?"

"Yes," I answered shortly, trying to keep this conversation as brief as possible. "I'm here to see Vanitas Destati. I'm his cousin Roxas."

"Roxas…Roxas…" mumbled the clerk as she scrolled through something on her computer. I can only assume that it's a list of people who have been cleared to come visit; makes sense since the people in this ward are subject to hazards. "Ah, here we are. Take this visitor tag and you can go on in."

Thanking her, I quickly turned and headed towards the automatic doors she had remotely unlocked.

I don't think I'll ever get used to the sights and sounds of this room. It's just so unnerving to hear such unnatural moans and the like emanating off the walls. If I'm going to do this, I'll have to focus hard and concentrate on getting the answers I seek. Now I just have to hope that Van remembers… Even a partial memory will suffice.

Glancing around the common area, I couldn't catch a glimpse of my raven-spiked, golden-eyed cousin anywhere. He's pretty hard to miss, so I had to assume he was in one of the other rooms.

"Um, excuse me, Doctor?" I said, approaching the familiar man in his white coat. "Is Vanitas Destati around?"

Turning to me, he seemed to recognize me slightly. "Vanitas, eh?" he muttered, flipping through his clipboard. "He doesn't have anything scheduled until six o'clock… Perhaps he's doing some art therapy. Let's check there, shall we?"

Nodding, I followed the doctor into a different room. When we got in, I couldn't help but think that it resembled a kindergarten classroom of sorts. The walls were painted a soft yellow, and the floors looked like the colorful tiles you might find in an art room. Large windows looked out towards the beach in a way that can only be described as calming, and I can see how this room could have therapeutic properties.

Sitting alone at one of the long, paint-covered tables, I spotted my spiky-headed cousin splatting paint onto a large piece of construction paper. It didn't look like he was making anything in particular, but if it's a good stress relief, then I don't see the issue with letting him waste paint like that.

"Van," the doctor said gently as we stepped towards him. "Someone is here to see you."

Vanitas continued to madly splat his paint around for another minute or so before he calmly set his paintbrush in a cup of water and turned to us.

"Roxas," he greeted in an oddly relaxed manner. "You came to see me again."

Putting on a smile, I sat down on the stool next to him. "Yeah, buddy. How've you been?"

"Good," he said plainly, waving the doctor away as he turned back towards his mess of a painting. "How come you're alone?"

"Oh, uh," I started, not quite sure what to tell him. Scratching at the back of my head, I fumbled for an excuse of sorts. "They, uh, were all busy today. Your mom's working and I think Ven and Sora had some club activity or something."

"Too bad," he responded offhandedly, setting aside the messy paper and pulling out some kind of scrapbook. In all honesty, I couldn't tell if he was listening to me or not.

"Van, listen, I need to ask-"

"Want to see my drawings?" he interrupted me, flipping the large book open to a random page. "I'm not very good, but it's fun."

"That's great, Van," I said quickly, trying to get to the point of why I came here. "But I really need-"

"Art's a really good way to keep bad things from coming back," he said, causing me to stop in my tracks. That wasn't what I was expecting him to say at all, and I most certainly didn't think he would say something that sounded relevant to what I needed to ask him.

"Bad things?" I questioned with a bit of persistence in my voice. "What do you mean, Van?"

Oh crap, I made a wrong move. As soon as those words left my mouth, that familiar fire lit in his eyes, and Van's hands were suddenly crushing my wrists in a powerful grip. I gasped in pain, but the spiky-haired teen was unrelenting in his sudden attack.

"You know," he said in a way that I can only describe as sadistic. "Everything I've been through, you know."

I could feel the grip on my wrists tightening as his hands began to quiver and twist. His golden eyes pierced into my fear-stricken, blue ones, but I could do nothing but receive his punishment. This is usually when Aunt Aerith, Sora, and Ven would pull him off of me, but I'd feel bad calling for help for something like this.

"You're an Organization member, Roxas. I didn't forget. You know about me and the past."

His thoughts weren't very organized, but he was inquiring something about what my position and knowledge were. Rather than asking, however, he was trying to force it out of me. Looks like I wasn't the only one who was trying to find answers. Who would have thought that Van would be as well?

"Please…Van, I-"

"Who sent you?"

I wanted to cry out that no one had, but I had a feeling he wouldn't believe me. I didn't know what I could say at that moment, but I had to think of something. At this rate, my wrists would be nothing but jelly and powdered bone if he didn't stop. Shutting my eyes tightly, I spurted out the first name that could come to mind.

"Jenova! I was sent by Jenova!"

Because I had my eyes shut, I didn't get to see Van's immediate reaction, but I suddenly felt the tension release from my wrists. Cracking open one eye, I was surprised to see Van with an almost fearful look on his face. The fire in his eyes had been extinguished; replaced by the irises of a frightened boy. I almost pitied him, yet I had no idea why he was behaving this way.

"J-Jenova…" he spoke choppily, staring at me with those terrified eyes. "You…you're a traitor, Roxas."

I cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder and sighed. He seemed unmoved by my gesture, and continued to stare at me with those wide eyes of his.

"It isn't what you think, Van," I reassured him as best I could. "I…I met with Sephiroth Jenova, the father of the Jenova brothers. He discovered something in your old locker, and I need to ask you about it."

"A box," he spoke darkly, his eyes returning to their normal look as he turned away from me to flip through his scrapbook. "He found a box."

I was stunned for a moment. How could Van have known what I was talking about so quickly? Did he know he'd left that box in there? Perhaps it was a mistake that he'd regretted. But…that didn't make sense! He couldn't remember his own father's death, but he could remember leaving some sort of box in his locker!

"This box," he said when I didn't respond. Adding to my surprise, Van held up a rather detailed picture he'd drawn. Other than the fact I had no idea he was such an artist (especially after seeing that monstrosity of a 'painting' he was working on), this was a drawing of the exact box, made even clearer by the fact that his initials were sketched on the same way they were on the actual object.

"How did… Yes," I answered while trying to compose myself before him. "Yeah, he found that box. I'm guessing you know what was inside there."

He didn't answer me, but began flipping through the pages of his book slowly. I watched in anticipation, hoping he would show me something else of use. It was slightly unnerving, though. With Van, it's hard to tell when he's actually paying attention or when he's simply doing whatever he feels like. For all I know, his thought process could have switched completely away from everything we'd just been talking about. There's no telling when dealing with someone that has a condition like his.

However, he stopped on a certain page after a short while and held it up to show me. Honestly, I couldn't tell what I was supposed to be looking at. It looked like some kind of compulsive thing he'd drawn when he first got here.

"Um, Van? Sorry, I don't understand. It just looks like you drew the letter X all over the page."

"It's not X," he deadpanned. "It's χ."

χ? And this whole time I thought they had been saying it like "key". Clearly it's not an English letter though.

"Van…" I breathed out as I gently touched the letters on the page, as if the contact would feed my insatiable curiosity. "What…what is χ?"

I began to panic as the fire in his eyes showed again, but this time Van didn't attack me. Instead, he quickly pulled his scrapbook away from me and flipped to a blank page that he furiously began scribbling down on.

"Not supposed to talk about it," he quibbled, writing down what appeared to be numbers and words that I had no clue about. "The art lady says it's bad."

"Who's the art lady?" I asked.

"R-…Roxas?"

I could literally feel all my nerves freeze up at the sound of my name being called. It wasn't out of surprise that someone had said my name, but more the fact of whom it was. I would recognize that soft, delicate voice anywhere, but I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wanted to turn and face the speaker, but I had begun shaking in my own disbelief of the matter. Van, however, prompted me to do so.

"It's her," he said simply, gesturing with his hand for me to turn and look.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I turned to face the last person I would have expected to see here. Those beautiful, entrancing eyes; that petite and delicate frame; and that soft, gentle expression. I wanted to say something, anything even, but I could only form a single word from my mouth.

"N-Naminé?"

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"I see," I said, finally able to take in all she'd just told me. As it would turn out, Mr. the Wise actually works at this hospital, but because he works closer to the CCU unit, I've never passed by him on any of the trips I've made here. The reason Naminé is here is because she comes every few weeks to do some volunteer work for the mental ward patients.

"Yeah, I'm not actually here to volunteer today, though," she said, shifting on the stool next to me so she could get into a more comfortable position. "My dad forgot something at school, so I came to drop it off and thought I'd check in on these guys."

"I see," I repeated, still a bit in awe over the fact that she of all people would be here. "So…I guess you and Van know each other pretty well then, huh?"

She smiled that Roxas-reserved smile of hers and leaned a bit to steal a glance at Van, who was currently engrossed by the lines of his pencil. "Fairly well. I thought it would be good to get to know him better, you know, because of the whole counseling thing I had with Sora."

I nodded, also turning to glance at Van. I never got to see what all those numbers and stuff he'd been writing before had been about, but I guess it isn't all that important. Besides, it would be a bit rude of me to bring it up with Naminé here, especially since she was the one who told him it would be bad to talk about it. In the end, though, my intuition about Naminé knowing about χ had been correct. Why else would she tell him not to talk about it?

"You came alone today?" she asked; I guess it was pretty obvious since none of my family members could be seen anywhere around the mental ward.

"Yeah, I, er…had something to, ah, discuss with Van," I managed to say without tying my tongue in too many knots.

Rather than questioning it further, I was surprised to hear Naminé giggle lightly. However, the sound of her amusement sent my insides into flutters, and I couldn't help but crack a smile at her. Somehow the tense atmosphere that Van and I had created was completely obliterated by this amazing girl in front of me.

"You seem close, even if you're just cousins," she twittered, eyes full of joy. Heh, I guess she assumed I came here just to see him, but I won't kill the mood by telling her otherwise.

"Eh, close enough," I stated with a shrug, glancing over at Van's detailed drawing. "Looks like you've been teaching him well enough."

"You'd think that," she began, leaning a bit closer to me so she could see Van's drawing better, "but he was actually pretty good already. I just helped him brush up on his technique a bit."

The proximity of our bodies was making my heart beat like crazy. It's so strange how my mood around Naminé is always so different. One minute she'll make me feel like I'm the most relaxed person in the world, the next I'm panicking about how I'm acting around her. I'm sure she doesn't mind (or notice, for that matter), but it makes me feel like an idiot for being so mood-swingy about it.

"M-Maybe you should help him with his painting," I chuckled nervously, cooling my head a bit. "That could use some work."

"Heehee, I think painting is more of a stress-reliever for him," she giggled as she noticeably eyed the paint-splattered paper across the table. "His real talent is sketching."

For quite a while, the two of us chatted away while Van was off in his own world. Before long, it had already started to get dark, so we bid our goodbyes to Van and headed out of the hospital. I offered her a ride home since Mr. the Wise would be working late tonight and she had taken the bus here.

As we walked out the automatic sliding doors of the entrance, the realization that Nam had been spending time with Van hit me. I mean, I knew when she told me, but the thought that she may have been getting all of her Organization info from him hadn't really struck me until we were outside. I stole a few glances at her carefree smile, and it really made me wonder how someone who appears so peaceful can harbour such dark secrets within them like she does.

"Hey…Naminé," I started apprehensively so as to avoid seeming aggressive. The last thing I wanted to do now was push her away.

"What's up?" she said cheerfully, sliding into the passenger seat beside me.

Trying to act natural about this situation was more difficult than I'd anticipated, and I felt like I was taking a long time to word it properly. It might not have been as awkward if I'd started the car or something, but for whatever reason I was just sitting there, fumbling with my hands as I attempted to think of the words.

"Um…well, it's about Vanitas," I said after that awkward silence. "I was just wondering…how much do you guys actually talk?"

Seemingly unaware of where I was trying to take this conversation, she kept the smile on her face as she tapped at her chin in thought. "Hmm. Well, to be honest, I was a little put off by him the first time I volunteered. He seemed so angry that I could hardly believe he was related to Sora. It took a few attempts, but eventually I started talking to him and now I usually spend a good portion of my hours chatting with him."

"Huh, I wouldn't have thought it," I said, trying to seem natural as I pulled out of the parking lot. "He really couldn't have that much to say, right? I mean, he's always cooped up inside there. Are his stories really so interesting?"

"Of course," she chuckled a bit while twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "He tells me about his childhood and growing up with a hyperactive brother and twin cousins. He never seems to run out of stories."

Heh, I've said it before, but Van never really was that close to us growing up, so I'm surprised to hear Naminé say that he has so many fond memories of us. I seem to recall him always hanging out with his own friends, so it was usually just Sora, Ven, and I.

Trying my best to keep the amused, natural act going, I stealthily slipped in a question that I hoped would get this conversation going. "So, does he have any stories from later on? You know, middle school, maybe even parts of his first high school year?"

As expected, Nam's smile faltered, and I felt a bit guilty for forcing this upon her. I stole a few quick glances away from the road to her to see her slumped posture, and she seemed to be twiddling her fingers as if to avoid the subject.

"It's hard for me to talk to him is all," I said when she remained quiet. "I'm always afraid to say the wrong things, because he tends to get aggressive when I do. It wouldn't be the first time he's attacked me if I had said something wrong today." Well, technically I did, but she wasn't there to see that.

"Roxas, I…" she started, bringing her head up to look at me. Man, if I could stop to look her in the eye right then, I would, but there's too much traffic for me to do anything more than steal some quick glances at her. "I think he worries about you. He has a…different way of showing it…and sometimes the words don't always translate correctly from his mouth, but he knows that you're getting in deep with the Organization."

"I don't understand, though," I responded flatly, hating myself for provoking some sort of reaction from her, despite the necessity. "Nothing bad has happened in this entire time, but you're saying he's been worried about me? It sounds more as though it's _you_ who's worrying about me, Nam."

Her cheeks flushed a bit, but she did not cower or shrink back the way she usually would when something embarrassed her. Instead, she almost seemed to develop some sort of powerful resolve.

"I do worry about you, Roxas!" she cried out, causing me to jump slightly in my seat. Thankfully I didn't step on the gas in my surprise. "There are things that I've heard…and strong enough evidence for me to know that letting you continue with them was a bad idea. That day… I never should have let you join that day!"

Even in her plight, she was attempting to protect me. It was eating away at me that I had to push her further and further because I would never do something like this to someone who means so much to me. She wouldn't say anything directly unless I did so first, and I knew that I would have to, though it pained me so much to do it.

"Nam," I said slowly, giving her a chance to breathe after her outburst. "I know about χ. If you're trying to hide it from me, then thank you, but it's already too late for that."

She seemed to tremble at my words, seemingly astonished that I had actually said something like that to her. I couldn't blame her, though, for I was somewhat surprised that I had said it as well. I didn't want to be so blunt about it, but there was no other way to approach the subject with her.

"So…you've known this whole time then…?" she squeaked, shrinking back into her slumped position.

"N-No… In fact, I only found out a few days ago, somewhat by pure coincidence, no less."

She sighed and raised her head a little to look at me again. Such beautiful eyes tainted by the sadness I'd brought out from her. Damn it all! Why couldn't I just be at a normal school?! Why couldn't I have made friends in a normal way, done regular activities in a regular club, or met this wonderful girl under everyday circumstances?!

"I know you've been wondering, Roxas; about everything that goes on with them. I tried so hard to protect you, but now…now it doesn't matter anymore. I didn't want you to get involved, but now you're caught up in all the terrible things that go on with them."

Her voice was shaky. She sounded on the verge of tears, but she wasn't sniffling or showing any signs of being about to cry. Of course I didn't want her to cry, but Nam has got to be one of the strongest people I know for holding back over something like this.

"Listen," I tried to soothe her as best as I could manage, "all I want to know is what they do with it."

I gave her a moment to calm down and get herself together. It was strange, but she seemed almost confused when she looked at me. Was it what I was asking of her or was it that I was asking her something at all?

"You…don't know what it is, then?" she spoke quietly and raised her head just enough to look me in the face. I shook my head in response, simply waiting for what she had to say. "Roxas…um, it's just…before I can tell you anything…I want to know what you already know about all of this."

I couldn't tell if she was stalling or if telling her what I knew might enhance the information she was about to give me, so I thought back to the encounter I had with Sephiroth and Vanitas' box…

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"_Um…sir? I don't…understand," I said, glancing up from the pencil case I had just opened._

"_What did you expect?" Sephiroth deadpanned while he looked out the back window. "If you thought that there would be __χ within that box, then you are sorely mistaken."_

_I turned my gaze back from the silver-haired man to the case in front of me. It's true, after all that buildup, I thought that the only thing it could house was what we were seeking. In retrospect, I should have realized that it was impossible for such a thing to be in there if Sephiroth had asked me what χ was earlier. I mean, if this box held it, then we wouldn't be trying to figure it out._

"_What do all these numbers and stuff mean?" I asked, looking at the sole slip of folded paper in the case. It looked like a list of some sort, scribbled hastily as if the writer had to jot it down quickly._

"_I do not know," Sephiroth stated flatly. "But I know that it has something to do with χ. If I am not mistaken, many of those appear to be some sort of chemical formulas and such."_

_Chemical formulas? So whatever χ is, it's some sort of synthetic compound. Assuming, of course, that this really _is_ related to χ. For all I know, these could be notes to a chemistry class that Van was in before the incident._

"_To be clear," Sephiroth said, tearing me away from my musings, "I do not believe χ is a drug." I'm not sure how he could so easily turn down the most obvious clue, but I'll hear him out first. "What you must note is that Organization XIII always does its dealings in the open. You yourself said that teachers and the like have passed you by during your business dealings. If such is the case, then I cannot believe that something as valuable as χ can be a drug; otherwise there would be extreme consequences for those who are caught."_

_I took a moment to run through his explanation. It seemed logical enough, yet the amount of money that people were spending on this stuff was absolutely ridiculous! I mean, two thousand munny for some kind of chemical…thing?! That isn't just the kind of cash you throw around without reason!_

"_So…assuming it's not a drug, do you think it could be related to drugs?" I inquired since he seemed to have had a lot more time to think about all of this._

"_Hard to say," he replied, striding over towards me and taking a seat in his chair. "You may not know this, but the correctional institute that my sons are attending only allows parents to see their children but once a year for one month. During each visit, I make sure to question my sons about their involvement with this shady business, but they do not say much. They have admitted to dealing with people who deal with narcotics, but they swear that they themselves have never dealt with such things."_

_Well, the simplest solution to that would be that his sons are lying, but somehow I get the feeling that he was right about χ not being a drug._

"_Um, I had a thought just now," I spoke up, trying to make some sense of everything we'd discussed. "If we can rely on everything that you've been told, then the only thing I can come up with is that χ is some kind of drug-related material that isn't illegal."_

_He sat back in his chair a bit, raising an eyebrow as he brought his hand up to his chin. "Please elaborate."_

_Taking a breath so that I could make sure I'd thought it out correctly, I spoke with conviction, "Well, think of it this way. Smoking pipes are legal, correct? As in, a person can own a pipe without being arrested or getting in trouble. Now, that's because the pipe itself doesn't do anything, and also because using it for tobacco is legal."_

_Sephiroth nodded, though he said nothing to indicate whether or not he could see where I was going with this. Taking another breath, I continued with my explanation._

"_Pipes aren't only used for tobacco, however. A lot of people use them for marijuana, which is illegal here. When you put it that way, having a pipe still isn't illegal, but using it for a substance like weed is."_

"_Then in our situation, you believe that χ is like the pipe in your example?" he asked in his unnervingly monotonous voice. I nodded in response, glad that he seemed to have understood what I was saying. "Interesting. I have had three years to ponder this, yet that thought has never crossed my mind."_

_I shifted on my seat a bit, readjusting the half melted ice pack on my wrist. "I could be right, or I could be completely wrong. Either way, we still don't know what the stuff is actually for."_

_Nothing was said for a while, and I couldn't quite tell what Sephiroth was thinking. He kept closing his eyes as if he were pondering everything we'd just gone over, but every now and then he would stare at me for a few moments. Of course, I had nothing to think about since I'd just spoken my beliefs, so I sat there in discomfort until he finally spoke._

"_I have a proposition for you," he said quietly, leaning forward so that his elbows were propped on the desk. "I would like for you to get to the bottom of this, as you are an Organization member whom Xemnas seems to trust, though he may have an odd way of showing it. When you have found out the purpose of χ, I would like for you to report it back to me."_

_Well, I was already planning on figuring it out for myself, so it's not much of a proposition. Besides, isn't he supposed to say what I'll get out of it?_

"_Then what's in it for me?" I asked, though I'm sure he knew I wanted to find out anyway._

_As expected, the ghost of a smile found its way onto his face once again, and I prepared myself for something unpleasant._

"_To the best of my knowledge, χ is still relatively unknown to legal authorities. If it were to turn up, things could be…unfortunate for those who have been using it. Oh yes, whether or not it is an illegal substance or not, your business partners, the Organization, and even you could be subject to punishment. Of course, my boys are already facing the consequences, so there is little more that can be done to them in this situation."_

_I gripped onto the armrests until my knuckles turned white. Was he blackmailing me?! After I'd helped him draw the conclusion that χ wasn't as shady as it may have seemed?_

"_That's a dirty trick," I growled, though I could do nothing in the situation but comply with his deal._

"_It is the act of patience, dear boy. I have waited three years to find someone who might help me uncover the truth about all of this, and I will not let such an opportunity slip from my fingers so easily."_

_With that, the two of us stood, slightly staring each other down as a silent, albeit hesitant, agreement was made. As I turned to leave the janitor's office, Sephiroth spoke once more._

"_I never did catch your name, boy. You are a Destati, but I know you are not the brother of Vanitas Destati."_

_I turned slightly so that I could see him out of my peripherals. "Roxas Destati, Van's cousin."_

_He showed no change in his expression, but I assume he believed what I'd just told him; after all, if he had ways of watching the Organization, it would be easy enough for him to figure out if I was lying about my name._

"_Remember, we are the only two, other than perhaps a select few others, who know about this now. If you hold up your end of the bargain, no one will be reported, Roxas."_

"_I understand."_

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We were stopped at a stoplight by the time I'd finished explaining it all to Naminé. The entire time, she hadn't spoken a word, only scrunching her face or nodding at parts that I can assume she didn't like or made sense respectively. In truth, she probably disliked that things made sense.

"So…you have to find out about it…to protect them?" she said slowly, working out the deal I'd unwillingly made with Sephiroth.

"Yeah, Xion and the others…they might be a shady bunch of people, but I can't allow them to be turned in if what they're doing isn't illegal. For all we know, that stuff in the box had nothing to do with χ. Most importantly, you're caught up in this too, Nam. I can't let you get in trouble just because you know about this stuff. Hell, at this point I'm even trying to save Axel."

"Why wouldn't you protect Axel?" she questioned. Right, she still doesn't know about that, and Van obviously wouldn't remember that much to tell her.

"Never mind," I brushed it off quickly. "In any case, that's my knowledge of the situation. If I'm going to protect them, I need any information about χ. I'm sorry to make you do this, Naminé, but if you want to protect me, the only way to do it is to go against what you wanted to say before."

It tore my heart in two to see her hide her face in her hands. Again, she wasn't crying, it seemed more like an action of frustration on her part. She knew that she had to tell me, yet she'd tried so hard to keep me out of this situation, and revealing it would basically ruin what she'd accomplished after all this time. I could sympathize, but unfortunately this was how it had to turn out.

Slowly, she slid her hands down her face and let out a long, sorrowful sigh. "You weren't wrong about χ, Roxas. It's not an illegal substance, but it's very popular amongst…that sort of crowd."

"Why is that exactly?" I asked, accelerating the car as the light turned green.

"It…it's a little complicated to explain… I'm guessing what you found in Vanitas' pencil case was a list of chemicals needed to make χ, or it was a list of successfully compatible substances. If they were drugs, it makes sense that he would have written them in their chemical name rather than the actual name.

"What χ is," she continued, sounding a bit more timid as she did so, "is a…catalyst of sorts." A catalyst? So, it speeds up chemical reactions or something? "It enhances the effects of a substance depending on however much is taken with it. Basically it can increase the hallucinogenic properties of something like LSD, or something as simple as making a morning coffee give someone that extra bit of kick. The reason it isn't illegal is because it has no effect when taken by itself; it just kind of dissipates into a person's system. It makes sense, since it needs something to react with, so if you just took the pill or whatever, it wouldn't have anything to enhance."

I'm sure she doesn't know all the scientific details of how something like that came into being – and even if she did, I wouldn't have the slightest clue what she was saying – so I absorbed that information with the utmost diligence. My pipe example had been exactly right, since this stuff doesn't seem to work with anything that has no psychological or neural effect; therefore, it wouldn't be illegal to have.

"I just didn't want you to get caught up in this," she whimpered, turning away from me. "It may be acceptable for you guys to be doing this, but it's a shady world to become a part of. I'd never want anyone to have to get involved, but I couldn't even help my closest friend from doing so."

I had reached my breaking point. This was too much, and I couldn't allow it to continue any longer. Without saying anything, I pulled off into an empty parking lot, stopped the car, and unbuckled my seatbelt.

"R-Roxas? What are you doing?" she asked, but I didn't answer her.

She gasped a bit as I quickly embraced her small, shaking frame, wrapping her in a hug that I had to make sure she felt with her heart.

"Naminé," I whispered into her ear, taking in the scent of her silky, blonde hair. "I'm sorry… Nam, I'm so sorry for all of this. Everything that's happened…everything you tried to do…it's because of me. The only thing I wanted when I came here was a normal high school life. Since then, nothing has gone right for me, or any of us, and I…I can't keep letting you hurt yourself over it. You don't need to protect me, because I'm going to protect you."

I felt her tremble in my grasp, but a warm feeling snaked its way behind my back as her slender arms returned my embrace. I could feel her hands clench onto the fabric of my shirt, and I held her tighter, hoping only to show her just how much I cared for her. I would do everything to protect her, just as she had been doing for me all of this time. Maybe we're too young to truly know what we're experiencing, but in this moment, I knew what it was like to honestly love someone enough to sacrifice myself for their sake. If only she could know just how I felt, how deeply I cared for her from the depths of my heart, my soul. Now wasn't the time, though. When this is all over and done with, I won't waste another moment in going to her.

Our moment was a bit short-lived, as my phone started ringing soon after. I wish I could ignore it, but the chance that it could be my mom worrying about me can't really be ignored. So, hesitantly releasing Naminé from my arms, I pulled the phone from my pocket.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Roxas!"_ Xion's voice chirped from the other end. _"You're still coming to Axel's place, right?"_

Frickin' hell, I never agreed to that. Still, I'd feel bad if I turned her down now. "Yeah, I'll be a bit late, though. Gotta take Naminé home and drop off some stuff."

"_Oh, uh, okay, let me know when you're heading over, then!"_

"Yeah, see ya."

On that note, I slid back into a sitting position in my seat and pulled my seatbelt across. As I clicked the belt into place, Nam's hand gently squeezed mine, caressing the back with her thumb. I followed her hand up her arm with my eyes until we were staring at each other face to face. Her eyes sparkled gratefully as she gave me that lovable smile, her cheeks only the slightest hint of pink against her pale complexion.

"Roxas, um…thank you," she said softly, giving my hand a light squeeze before releasing it.

"Y-Yeah…don't mention it," I stuttered dumbly, a little unsure of what to say. She didn't seem to mind, and waited for me to start the car and get going.

We'll be on break from school soon, but come second semester, I'm going to make sure that I get to the bottom of this. Though they may not know it, everyone is depending on me: Vanitas, Xion, and most important of all, Naminé. I'll do everything I can to protect them from any more pain.

* * *

Aww yeah! Finally got some answers! Everybody celebrate!

Not to toot my own horn, but I'm extremely happy with the way this chapter turned out. It was a good length, one of the big questions was answered, and the Naminé plot has finally converged with the Organization plot! It also had the lovely fluff section at the end, so I'd say that's a pretty big milestone for a chapter, wouldn't you? I am feelin' so gooood

Anyway, hopefully you liked reading this chapter as much as I liked writing it. It would kinda suck if people thought it was crappy even though I loved it so much… Guess you'll have to let me know!

Thanks to **VATR, roxasduelwielder, Guest, **and **That one Anon** for reviewing!

Thanks for reading and please review! Also remember to check out that site for the visual novel I posted a link to at the top!

_-GengaJupite_


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